Doctors without Borders, Nigeria

In one of the largest pre-licensure vaccine clinical trials ever conducted worldwide, research championed by an Eastern Virginia Medical School investigator demonstrated that the oral vaccine Rotateq virtually eliminated the most severe cases of rotavirus, a common childhood virus that sometimes becomes deadly.

Rotavirus causes about 70,000 hospital admissions in the United States annually, or about five percent of all pediatric admissions. It also results in 250,000 visits each year to U.S. emergency rooms.

In the developing world, where prompt hospitalization and effective treatment may not be available, rotavirus kills half a million infants a year, about one child each minute. Matson, widely regarded as one of the nation’s leading rotavirus researchers, has studied the virus for over two decades.

RotaTeq is presently under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Merck has filed for licensure of RotaTeq in 50 other countries and plans to evaluate the use of RotaTeq in the developing world.

As much as I relish tracking basic scientific research, it’s a special moment when that work finds a way into practical life.