Scientists unveiled Tuesday an affordable vaccine against a deadly diarrhoea-causing virus that kills some 100,000 children in India every year.
Rotavirus, which causes dehydration and severe diarrhoea, is globally responsible for some 453,000 deaths annually and is particularly threatening in Africa and Asia, where access to urgent healthcare is often out of reach.
K. Vijaraghavan, secretary of India’s Department of Biotechnology which steered the hunt for an affordable rotavirus vaccine, said it was a product of international cooperation, although it has yet to be approved by New Delhi.
The vaccine named Rotavac will be manufactured by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech pharmaceutical firm which has said it has the capacity to mass produce 60 million doses after clearance is given. Each vaccination consists of three doses.
Rotavirus is blamed for causing up to 884,000 hospitalisations in India a year, at a cost to the country of 3.4 billion rupees ($72 million), scientists say.