IT is heartening to note that there are efforts to prevent rotavirus infections.
An article in the New Straits Times recently said the rotavirus vaccine would be included in the National Immunisation Programme if the mortality rate due to the disease for children aged 5 and below exceeded 10 per cent.
Rotavirus infection is estimated each year to cause more than 8,500 hospitalisations for vomiting, diarrhoea, and severe pain and dehydration for children under 5 in the country.
Many cases of diarrhoea seen by outpatient clinics have not been reported as rotavirus infection, as it is not a part of the Health Ministry’s list of notifiable diseases.
The rotavirus is found everywhere and almost all children will be infected before 5, regardless of where they live. It is the most common cause of severe diarrhoea among infants and young children in countries that do not have rotavirus vaccines.
Because of its ubiquity and availability of safe and effective vaccines, the World Health Organisation has, since 2009 recommended that rotavirus vaccines be included in national immunisation programmes and considered a priority, including in high-income countries.
The use of rotavirus vaccines should be part of a comprehensive strategy to control diarrhoeal diseases with the scaling up of prevention (breastfeeding and handwashing) and treatment packages, such as oral rehydration therapy.
It was reported that intravenous treatments in hospitals are often needed for people severely sickened with rotavirus.
Studies have found tremendous benefits following the introduction of rotavirus vaccines in national immunisation programmes in developed and less-developed countries.
Public Health England reported that rotavirus infections fell by 84 per cent in the country since a vaccine for babies was introduced in 2013. A paper published in recent months showed a marked reduction in rotavirus in the United States after vaccine licensure, even in people who likely didn’t receive the vaccine.
In fact, in the US, the routine use of rotavirus vaccine led to a decrease in all-cause diarrhoea hospitalisations by up to 50 per cent in children under 5.
Major declines in rotavirus and diarrhoea-related hospitalisations were observed in Australia, Austria, Belgium and Finland.
In Mexico, officials observed sustained reductions in diarrhoea deaths among children under 5 by 50 per cent.
More than 80 countries use rotavirus vaccines, including Muslim countries, such as Bahrain, Morocco and Saudi Arabia.
The requests from parents in the private sector for rotavirus vaccination have increased since the recent outbreak and the two rotavirus deaths in Perak some years ago.
In Malaysia, a national introduction of rotavirus vaccine will be an opportunity to prevent hospitalisations and suffering, especially for children who lack access to private healthcare.
DATUK DR ZULKIFLI ISMAIL, Consultant paediatrician, past president of the Malaysian Paediatric Association; secretary-general of the Asia Pacific Paediatric Association; and member of Rotavirus Organisation of Technical Allies Council
MATHU SANTOSHAM, professor of International Health and Paediatrics at International Vaccine Access Center, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; and chair of the Rotavirus Organisation of Technical Allies Council