GSK rotavirus shot chosen for UK immunisation campaign
Purchase this article for republication
Buy SPH photosLONDON (REUTERS) - GlaxoSmithKline's Rotarix vaccine has been chosen for Britain's first routine rotavirus immunisation programme to protect babies and children against the most common cause of severe diarrhoea and vomiting.
Rotarix, a two-dose oral vaccine squirted into the baby's mouth, will be added to the childhood immunisation schedule for three years from September next year to vaccinate all babies aged 6-24 weeks, the government said.
Rotavirus is a common and highly contagious virus that infects the bowel and stomach, swiftly causing gastroenteritis, or diarrhoea and vomiting.
It is the most common cause of gastroenteritis in babies and young children in Britain, where public health experts estimate every child will have at least one rotavirus infection before their fifth birthday.
