Nigeria introduces Bharat Biotech's ROTAVAC® vaccine for immunization in children

Hyderabad: Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) on 24 August announced that its rotavirus oral vaccine Rotavac has been introduced by Nigeria to immunise children from the life-threatening diarrhoeal disease that affects millions of children worldwide.

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. Each year, rotavirus infection causes about 50,000 child fatalities under the age of five in Nigeria.

Dr. Krishna Ella, the chairman and managing director of Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, said, "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."

Rotavirus is one of the leading causes of diarrhoeal disease in the world and is responsible for over 40% of diarrhoea in children. It accounts for about 2,15,000 of the 5,25,000 under-five mortality worldwide each year.

Rotavac received WHO prequalification in January 2018. It was developed under a public-private partnership with the department of biotechnology, government of India, and 16 other partners.