The panel of experts that advises Canadians on immunization is endorsing the use of RotaTeq, a new vaccine to prevent rotavirus gastroenteritis in very young children.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization said infants and their families are likely to benefit from immunization with RotaTeq, which is made by Merck Frosst Canada.
RotaTeq is the first vaccine available in Canada to prevent rotavirus gastroenteritis in infants - the most common cause of severe gastroenteritis in children under three. It has been on the market in the United States since 2006.
The NACI statement says the vaccine has a good safety profile, showing no signs of the elevated rates of intussusception, a rare but sometimes fatal bowel obstruction - that led Wyeth-Lederle Vaccines to withdraw an earlier rotavirus vaccine, RotaShield, from the market in 1999.
RotaTeq has been approved for use in infants 6 to 32 weeks of age and the first dose must be given within 12 weeks of age.
Merck Frosst Canada says that in clinical trials, the vaccine prevented 74 per cent of all rotavirus gastroenteritis cases and 98 per cent of the severe cases.
NACI estimates that a universal RotaTeq immunization program of all Canadian infants could prevent as many as 56,000 cases of rotavirus gastroenteritis, 33,000 physician visits, 15,000 emergency department visits and from 1,000 to 5,000 hospitalizations a year.
But because rotaviruses are responsible for only about 20 per cent of bouts of diarrhea and vomiting in children, NACI warned that "even a highly effective vaccine will appear ineffective to the general public."
The NACI recommendation doesn't mean the oral vaccine will now be available through provincial and territorial health plans. Decisions on funding must still be made by each province and territory.
It will be up to the Canadian Immunization Committee to advise provincial and territorial governments on whether the vaccine should be added to the lengthening roster of publicly funded vaccines.
Until those funding decisions are made, parents who want to have their children vaccinated would need to pay for the three-dose vaccine themselves.
The NACI recommendation was applauded by the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, who often care for infants who are hospitalized with rotavirus infections.
"Rotavirus does not discriminate. It affects all socioeconomic groups and can wreak havoc in childcare facilities, schools, doctors' offices and hospital emergency departments," Dr. Vincent Grant, chair of the association's pediatric section, said in a release.
"Not only is it a common cause of stressful and costly emergency department visits, but its highly contagious nature makes it a common cause of hospital-acquired illness for patients and their siblings visiting the emergency department for any reason."
Rotaviruses are a common cause of gastroenteritis that cause bouts of diarrhea and vomiting that can last for several days. The infections can become serious in young children when they lead to dehydration.
In the developing world, the viruses are estimated to kill about a half a million children a year.
