Stephanie Coleman, Gleaner Writer
Dr. David Prado (left), professor of clinical microbiology at the Universidad Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala, addresses the media with Dr. Kirk Thame, consultant paediatrician and paediatric gastroenterologist at the University Hospital of the West Indies, during yesterday's launch of Rotarix, a rotavirus vaccine distributed by United States-based pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline. The vaccine is intended to treat some strains of gastro-enteritis. The function took place at the Courtleigh Hotel, New Kingston. - RICARDO MAKYN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
GLAXOSMITHKLINE (GSK) Caribbean Limited yesterday launched a new vaccine to protect children from the rotavirus which causes some strains of gastroenteritis.
The new vaccine, Rotarix, is being introduced at a time when there are reports of a spike in the number of cases of gastro-enteritis in the Corporate Area and St. Catherine.
According to Dr. David Prado, professor of clinical microbiology at the Universidad Francisco Marroquin, Rotarix is an oral vaccine that provides life-long protection from the rotavirus by building a natural resistance to gastro-enteritis.
PREVENTING SERIOUS CASES
Speaking during the vaccine's launch at the Courtleigh Hotel, New Kingston, Dr. Prado claimed the vaccine is 73 per cent effective against any rotavirus diarrhoea and 90 per cent effective against severe gastroenteritis.
"One in five may still get rotavirus diarrhoea after being vaccinated," he said. "We're not expecting to prevent 100 per cent cases of rotavirus diarrhoea when we use the vaccine. We're preventing most cases and severe diahorrea that leads to hospitalisation and death."
Rotarix is designed for children between the ages of six and 24 months, where the most common and severe cases of paediatric gastro-enteritis occur. The vaccine is administered during the first six months of life, with the first dose given at one and a half months, followed by another given at three and a half months.
Dr. Prado said children who have been exposed to the rotavirus prior to vaccination should only be given one dose.
FREE OF SIDE EFFECTS
According to Dr. Kirk Thames, consultant gastroenterologist and paediatrician at the University Hospital of the West Indies, the vaccine only protects against gastro-enteritis caused by the rotavirus, which accounts for 30 per cent of all gastro-enteritis cases.
Dr. Prado was confident that Rotarix is free of side effects, unlike the United States' Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved Rotashield vaccine, which caused intestinal complications and had to be recalled.
The vaccine is not currently on the Government's list of vaccines and is available only at private medical centres at US$50 (J$3,000) per dose. The vaccine is not FDA-approved, but is registered with the Ministry of Health which is conducting its own research and negotiating a price reduction with the Pan American Health Organisation and the World Health Organisation.
Contracting gastro
Possible modes of transmission for rotavirus gastroenteritis
Oral route: eating or injecting micro amounts of faeces carrying the disease.
Preparing food with dirty hands - micro amounts of virus-infected faeces on the hands and under the nail.
Sharing contaminated toys and objects - virus can live on objects for several days.
People can carry the virus and spread it without showing symptoms.
Can be transmitted through the air.
Rotavirus can thrive even in sanitary conditions.
