Rotavirus, the most common cause of diarrhea and vomiting in infants and children, can now be treated with an oral vaccine called Rotarix that was recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The vaccine targets the virus through two liquid oral doses. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently recommends that children complete the rotavirus immunization series by six months of age. However, the new vaccine, which is being produced by GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, could be given to children up to two years of age.

The FDA's approval of the new vaccine was based on clinical trial data that supported the intended results of preventing the virus in majority of cases in children under two through their two-dose series. There have been other vaccines introduced into the market prior to Rotarix; however, one was withdrawn voluntarily from the U.S. market due to reports of intestinal folding (also known as intussusceptions). GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals performed studies involving more than 63,000 infants to ensure that their new vaccine did not increase children's chances of developing intussusceptions. The only other vaccine currently on the market is RotaTeq? manufactured by Merck.

The new vaccine targets strains G1, G3, G4, and G9 to prevent rotavirus gastroenteritis.
Over 25 million doses of Rotarix, the oral rotovirus vaccine, have been distributed around the world. In order to gain U.S. license for distribution, there were five Phase 3 clinical trials conducted worldwide to evaluate the effectiveness of the vaccine and any adverse effects. In a study involving 24,000 children, to test the results of Rotarix against the Rotavirus, the vaccine proved to be effective when preventing mild to severe cases of gastroenteritis in the first few years of an infant's life. There were several reported side effects during the study, with the most common being fussiness, cough, runny nose, fever, vomiting, loss of appetite and irritability.

Rotavirus spreads rapidly through infected hands and objects. It is recommended to wash ones hands frequently to aide in the prevention of spreading the virus. It usually takes about two days for symptoms to appear once exposed. Symptoms of the virus such as vomiting and watery diarrhea may last up to eight days. A patient infected with the virus may lose interest in eating or drinking and can become dehydrated. It is very important to continue to drink fluids with high concentration of water and sugar when infected with the virus to prevent dehydration. Most often when children are hospitalized with the virus it is due to dehydration and the need for I.V. fluids.

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