Preventing rotavirus in Africa

In the West, rotavirus immunisation became routine several years ago, and we are now enjoying the benefits of fewer admissions for infectious diarrhoea. In low-income countries, rotavirus gastroenteritis is not just an inconvenience, but a common and frequently fatal illness. This is particularly true of sub-Saharan Africa. Uptake of mass immunisation has been slow, because of cost and difficulty in getting refrigerated vaccine to remote communities: the ‘cold-chain’ problem. Unlike bacterial …