Rotavirus vaccine could save lives of almost 500,000 children a year

Positive outcome of trials in Niger fuels hope that vaccine can protect children in sub-Saharan Africa and beyond from infection that causes often fatal diarrhoea

A vaccine capable of enduring scorching temperatures for months at a time could strike a decisive blow in the fight against rotavirus, preventing nearly half a million children around the world from dying of diarrhoea each year.

Mi(C)decins Sans Frontiires (MSF) has hailed successful trials of the BRV-PV vaccine in Niger as a "game changer" in tackling rotavirus infection, which is the leading cause of severe diarrhoea globally and claims the lives of an estimated 1,300 children daily, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa.