Paediatricians have started increasingly recommending oral rotavirus vaccine as an option for immunizing infants between 6 to 24 weeks of age against rotavirus-caused gastroenteritis. Rotarix, the novel rotavirus vaccine, manufactured by GSK and was approved by the US FDA earlier is now part of the US Immunization Programme.

According to Dr B Bhaskar Raju, professor, Paediatric Gastroenterolgy, Madras Medical College, GSK's Indian subsidiary is bringing out the highly expensive vaccine into the Indian market. The Doctor, who was the former secretary of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP), said besides the USA, in Europe, Singapore and Hong Kong this vaccine is routinely given to the infants and is one of the expensive of all recommended children's vaccines.

"In India currently a lot of study and researches are going on to manufacture this new vaccine. We are expecting the Indian made Rotarix in the next 3 to 4 years time. Then the vaccine will be available at a lower price. Its high price is now becoming a barrier to the poor for availing it. For one dose it costs Rs.1000. Each child should be given two drops of this oral vaccine, one drop at two Months age and another one at four Months age," Dr Baskar Raju said.

While speaking to Pharmabiz the Doctor, who heads the Department of Gastroenterolgy, institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children, Egmore, said in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi and in the Christian Medical College Vellore, comprehensive researches on Rotavirus vaccine are being conducted. In western countries millions of children are being immunized with Rotarix and found it an effective medicine for rotavirus gastroenteritis.

According to doctors Rotavirus infection is the leading cause of severe diarrhoea and vomiting in infants and young children between 3-24 months. If untreated, the virus can rapidly kill, as the sickest children become dehydrated from 10 to 20 episodes of diarrhoea in a single day. A recent study by certain doctors reveal that over 20 lakh children are hospitalized and over 6 lakh children die globally every year due to dehydrating Rotaviral diarrhoea. In India, Rotavirus diarrhoea causes over 5 lakh hospitalizations every year. The virus affects children of all socio-economic groups, ethnicity and countries, and improvement in hygiene and sanitation does not decrease this RV infections.