Rotavirus vaccine still effective in reducing diarrhea-related deaths in Mexico, researchers say

"The rotavirus vaccine introduced in Mexico in 2007 still appears to be preventing diarrhea-related deaths in children, despite speculation that years later the vaccine may not be as effective," according to the Los Angeles Times' "Booster Shots" blog. "In a letter released Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers report that the vaccine still seems to be successful in reducing mortality rates among children," the blog writes, adding that rotavirus "is responsible for 527,000 childhood deaths per year" worldwide.

The authors "compared diarrhea-related deaths during the three years after the vaccine was introduced with death rates during rotavirus seasons from 2003 to 2006," noting "that the decrease in death rates due to diarrhea continued for three seasons after the vaccine was introduced shows that some of the drop in mortality rates is probably due to the vaccinations," according to the blog (Stein, 8/25).