Overview Product Pipeline V. Leishmaniasis Diarrheal Disease Malaria Chagas

		Related Press Releases and Articles: Institute For OneWorld Health Announces Strategic Advisory Board For Diarrheal Disease Program OneWorld Health Press Release  04.29.08 Roche and the Institute for OneWorld Health Announce Research Collaboration to Fight Neglected Diarrheal Diseases in Developing Countries OneWorld Health Press Release  04.17.08 OneWorld Health Sponsors Diarrheal Diseases Symposium at PEDICON 2008 to Share Information on Effective Therapies against Major Child Killer OneWorld Health Press Release  01.19.08 Dr. Victoria Hale to Build upon OneWorld Health’s Success for Broader Global Health Impact OneWorld Health Press Release  09.27.07		Five Common Types of Diarrheal Pathogens: Rotavirus Global Burden Rotavirus (shown at left) is responsible for over 100 million cases of diarrhea and 600,000 deaths every year, making it the most common cause of diarrheal death in children under the age of five worldwide1. Although rotavirus infections occur all over the world, 80% of rotavirus deaths occur in developing countries2. Rotavirus is spread through person-to-person contact via infected feces. Although some infections are asymptomatic, most infections are associated with acute onset diarrhea, headache, nausea, malaise, abdominal cramping, and fever3. Current Treatment Rotavirus, like all viral pathogens, is unresponsive to antibiotic therapy. Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) is recommended during acute cases to help prevent dehydration due to diarrheal purging. However, ORT will not treat the underlying cause of diarrhea. Some controversial studies suggest that probiotics (harmless species of bacteria) can be beneficial during rotavirus infection4. Rotavirus infection is remarkably difficult to prevent. Although the vast majority of rotavirus deaths occur in developing countries, children are infected with rotavirus at roughly the same rate all over the world. This observation suggests that improvements in water treatment and sanitation alone will not significantly reduce infection rates in endemic areas5. Due to the lack of effective therapies or preventive measures for the virus, new treatments or vaccines are urgently needed. The first rotavirus vaccine, RRV-TV, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1998. However, RRV-TV was withdrawn from the US market in 1999 due to reports of intussusception in recently vaccinated children6. Several other vaccines are currently in late-stage development7. Further studies are needed to determine if any of these vaccine candidates will be effective in affected populations. (Image courtesy of Cornelia Buchen-Osmond, ICTVdB, the universal virus database of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses). Parashar, U. D., Hummelman, E. G., Bresee, J. S., Miller, M. A., and Glass, R. I. (2003) Emerg Infect Dis 9, 565-572 Svennerholm, A. M., and Steele, D. (2004) Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol 18, 421-445 Anderson, E. J., and Weber, S. G. (2004) Lancet Infect Dis 4, 91-99 Alam, N. H., and Ashraf, H. (2003) Paediatr Drugs 5, 151-165 Bresee, J. S., Glass, R. I., Ivanoff, B., and Gentsch, J. R. (1999) Vaccine 17, 2207-2222 Widdowson, M. A., Bresee, J. S., Gentsch, J. R., and Glass, R. I. (2005) Curr Opin Gastroenterol 21, 26-31 Cunliffe, N. A., Bresee, J. S., and Hart, C. A. (2002) J Infect 45, 1-9 Return to Common Types of Diarrheal Pathogens page > Return to Diarrheal Disease main page >

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