Australian researchers have begun clinical trials of a new
vaccine to protect newborn infants against rotavirus, a
life-threatening diarrhoeal disease that kills half a million
children worldwide each year.
In a world-first, the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
(MCRI), Melbourne, has developed a rotavirus vaccine candidate
specifically for newborns.
Current rotavirus vaccines are given to babies from six to eight
weeks of age, which may leave newborn infants at risk of early
infection and, in countries with limited health care access, may
delay timely administration of the vaccine.
"This is a contribution of major importance to global child
health by Australian researchers and one that has enormous
potential to reduce suffering and mortality among the most
vulnerable children around the world," lead researcher Professor
Julie Bines of MRCI, the University of Melbourne's Department of
Paediatrics and The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne said.
"The new vaccine candidate has the potential to save many
thousands of lives by vaccinating babies at birth while they were
still in a health care setting.
"We aim to provide the RV3 vaccine at a lower cost than current
vaccines available on the market. While we hope the vaccine will be
available in Australia, our first priority will be the developing
world, where 90 per cent of rotavirus deaths occur."
The vaccine will be made by Indonesian vaccine manufacturer
BioFarma.
Rotavirus infection is the leading cause of severe dehydrating
diarrhoeal illness and deaths in children under five worldwide,
resulting in two million hospitalisations and more than 500,000
deaths each year.
Nearly every child in the world, regardless of income level or
geographic location, will contract rotavirus before the age of
three. While vaccinations are part of national immunisations
programs in countries such as Australia and the USA, immunisation
efforts in developing countries have been hindered by cost
challenges.
"Our biggest challenge is getting vaccines to vulnerable
children in a timely and cost-effective way," Professor Bines
said.
"If the trials are successful, our vaccine could offer a major
boost for global efforts to reduce death and suffering from
rotavirus in children worldwide."
Babies are currently being recruited for a clinical trial of the
vaccine candidate in Melbourne, which will be given in a single
dose orally. If successful, it will be tested in babies in two
larger international trials in Indonesia and New Zealand from 2011.
The vaccine could be available in the market within five years.
The trials follow the global recommendation by the World Health
Organization last year that all children be vaccinated against
rotavirus infection in an effort to reduce child mortality
worldwide.
The vaccine candidate is the culmination of almost four decades
of research in Australia by MCRI, the Royal Children's Hospital
Melbourne and the University of Melbourne, following the discovery
of rotavirus by a team of staff led by Professor Ruth Bishop in
1973.
It has been developed with financial support from international
non-profit organisation PATH, the Federal Government's National
Health & Medical Research Council, the New Zealand Health
Research Council, the World Health Organization, and in
collaboration with Indonesian vaccine manufacturer BioFarma.
If you would like more information about the current trial,
please phone the Rotavirus Research Group on: 03 8341 6448.