Bharat Biotech’s Rotavac introduced in Nigeria to immunise children from diarrhoea

Hyderabad: Hyderabad headquartered vaccine developer Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) announced that its rotavirus oral vaccine Rotavac has been introduced by Nigeria to immunise its children from the life-threatening diarrhoeal disease. Nigeria currently accounts for 14% of all childhood rotavirus deaths globally, making it the country with the second-highest number of rotavirus deaths in the […]

Hyderabad: Hyderabad headquartered vaccine developer Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) announced that its rotavirus oral vaccine Rotavac has been introduced by Nigeria to immunise its children from the life-threatening diarrhoeal disease. Nigeria currently accounts for 14% of all childhood rotavirus deaths globally, making it the country with the second-highest number of rotavirus deaths in the world. Rotavirus infection causes about 50,000 child fatalities under the age of five each year in Nigeria.

“Decades of research and product development have resulted in Rotavac. This vaccine is now available in several countries across Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. We are proud to state that novel vaccines from India are saving lives worldwide,” said Dr Krishna Ella, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Biotech.

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“We are committed to supporting and reducing the infectious disease burden amongst children in the developing world, and to ensure nations like Nigeria have access to cost-effective interventions for infants and vulnerable populations. Rotavac is safe and effective at preventing diarrheal disease caused by the Rotavirus,” he said adding that Bharat Biotech will continue researching, developing, and manufacturing novel vaccines, to lower the morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases.

Rotavirus is one of the leading causes of diarrheal disease in the world and is responsible for over 40% of diarrhoea in children. It accounts for about 2.15 lakh of the 5.25 lakh under-5 mortality worldwide each year that are attributed to diarrheal diseases.

Rotavac received WHO-Prequalification in January 2018. Bharat Biotech developed the first generation, rotavirus vaccine, Rotavac under a public-private partnership with the Department of Biotechnology and 16 other international partners, making it the largest ever social innovation project for public health.

Bharat Biotech is a global leader in rotavirus vaccines, with one of the largest manufacturing capacities.