Event: Experts convened at the 6th International Rotavirus Symposium will be available for comment. With vaccines against the killer disease of rotavirus almost in hand, government representatives, scientists, public health professionals and vaccine industry representatives will be convened in Mexico City to review progress toward safe, effective rotavirus vaccines and address the question of how to make sure they get to the world’s poorest children.
When: Wednesday, July 7, 2004, 11-11:30 am.
Where: Presidente Intercontinental Hotel
Campos Eliseos 218, Polanco Zone
Phone +52 (55) 53277700
Mexico City, Mexico.
Who:
- Dr. Ciro de Quadros, Sabin Vaccine Institute
- Dr. Roger Glass, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Dr. Julio Frenk, Secretary of Health, Mexico
- Dr. Jon Andrus, Pan American Health Organization
- Dr. Roberto Tapia, Vice Secretary of Health, Mexico
- Dr. Ruth Bishop, University of Melbourne, discoverer of rotavirus
- Dr. Albert Kapikian, Nat’l Inst. of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, rotavirus vaccine inventor.
Note: Journalists wishing to attend the symposium closing luncheon briefing at noon on Friday, July 9 are advised to register at the conference press room or with one of the contacts below.
Health experts are preparing for a pivotal meeting in Mexico City July 7, where they will discuss the latest information about rotavirus, a deadly disease that kills half a million children each year, and review the status of vaccines against it.
The most common cause of severe diarrhea, hospitalizations, and deaths among children worldwide, rotavirus is a high priority for developing countries with limited health services, where 85 percent of the 500,000 deaths occur, most from severe dehydration. Vaccines currently under development could be introduced into the routine program of childhood immunizations within 1-3 years and could prevent this most common cause of severe morbidity and mortality in children. The international community has recognized the accelerated development and introduction of rotavirus vaccines as a high priority.