New Lessons for Rotavirus Vaccines

摘要

Two decades ago, Bishop discovered human rotaviruses, the most common cause of severe dehydrating diarrhea in children worldwide (1). Although most rotavirus infections are mild, field studies from more than 50 countries document tremendous morbidityand mortality. Rotaviruses are detected in 20 to 70% of fecal specimens from children hospitalized with acute diarrhea, and in developing countries they cause about 870,000 deaths each year (2). Even in the United States, rotavirus is associated with 3%of all hospitalizations of children younger than 5 years old, which translates to a staggering 55,000 to 70,000 hospitalizations per year, with medical and indirect costs in excess of 1 billion dollar (3). Efforts to prevent disease by improving water orsanitation seem unlikely to succeed, because all children in developed and developing countries become infected with rotavirus in the first 3 to 5 years of life. A high priority has therefore been placed on the generation of a safe and effective vaccine.