Reuters reports that GlaxoSmithKline has submitted its oral rotavirus vaccine for approval in Mexico, and that such approval could be forthcoming later this year.
Rotavirus causes severe vomiting and diarrhea leading to dehydration that kills an estimated 400,000-600,000 children annually, almost all of them in the developing world.
A vaccine for rotavirus was offered in the United States by Wyeth in 1998, but had to be withdrawn over fears that it might increase the risk of a deadly bowl obstruction. That, unfortunately, led the vaccine to be rejected throughout the world where it would have almost certainly saved tens of thousands of lives.
Source:
New rotavirus vaccine close to launch in Mexico. Lorraine Orlandi, Reuters, July 5, 2004.
The New Rotavirus Vaccine Could Be Released Later This Year by Brian Carnell, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.