In Pakistan’s capital, rotavirus vaccine helps children escape diarrheal infections

People wait to administer the vaccine at a government-run hospital in Islamabad on June 6, 2024. (AN Photo)

• Rotavirus can cause severe watery diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain among newborns, infants
• Diarrhea accounts for around 60 percent of infant deaths in Pakistan annually, a research study says

ISLAMABAD: Tariq Javed and his wife waited anxiously for their turn as they cuddling their newborn baby daughter Mahnoor in a corridor of Islamabad's Polyclinic Hospital. The couple were among a handful of other parents patiently sitting on steel benches in the hospital's hallway, eager to get their children immunized against rotavirus.
The virus can cause severe watery diarrhea, vomiting, fever and abdominal pain, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It spreads easily among infants and young children, who can become dehydrated and may need to be hospitalized after contracting the virus.
According to a research study titled, “The rise of diarrheal illnesses in the children of Pakistan amidst COVID‐19: A narrative review,” rotavirus accounts for 60 percent of infant and child deaths in Pakistan annually. The study states that Pakistan has the highest ratio for infant mortality from diarrhea in Asia.
Realizing the dangers that rotavirus poses to millions of children across the country, Pakistan’s government introduced the rotavirus vaccine in the national immunization program in 2017. In a study to gauge the vaccine’s effectiveness in the first seven years, researchers found in October 2023 that the vaccine was around 30 percent effective among Pakistani children. It is known to be more effective in higher income countries where there are better sanitary conditions and environmental hygiene factors.
“Parents should bring their children to hospital to get their vaccination course completed so that children could fight back [against] the diseases,” Javed told Arab News, going through his daughter’s immunization.
He said he got to know about the vaccine’s importance through doctors.
“You see a lot of children contracting a lot of diseases because they don’t get immunized timely and that’s why they face issues,” he said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has ranked Pakistan at number 23 worldwide in terms of childhood mortality caused by diarrheal illness, with almost 6.4 million cases of pediatric diarrhea being reported in the country annually.
Doctors and experts say dehydration, substandard hygiene conditions and lack of breastfeeding are major causes of rotavirus infections among infants and children. Babies between eight to fourteen weeks old are given two doses of the vaccine with a gap of four weeks to boost their immunity against diarrhea.
Dr. Syed Awais Abid, an associate physician at the hospital’s Pediatric Medicine Department, said the oral medicine does not have any side effects and is easy to administer.
“Since the vaccine was introduced, this [occurrence of diarrhea in babies] has reduced to an extent,” Dr. Abid told Arab News.
He said diarrhea and pneumonia were among diseases that led to fatalities in Pakistan and other developing countries.
“It [diarrhea] is indeed a dangerous disease, but the treatment is vital,” Dr. Abid explained. “The main cause of it is dehydration and timely treatments are available for dehydration like [intravenous] drip and Oral Rehydration Solution that leads to improvement.”
Another couple, who awaited their turn at the immunization center carrying their twins in their arms, urged parents to get their children immunized against rotavirus.
“There are numerous new diseases like polio, vomiting, indigestion, and this [rotavirus vaccine] prevents all,” Shah Hussain, father of twins Habiba Noor and Khadija Noor, told Arab News. “I am getting them immunization, vaccination and polio drops. This is a good thing as it has no side effect on children.”
Dr. Abdul Ghafoor Shoro, a public health specialist and secretary-general of the Pakistan Medical Association, said clean drinking water and environmental hygiene were key to bringing down childhood mortality caused by diarrhea.
“The rotavirus vaccine is effective and helped reduce our disease burden significantly in the last couple of years” he said. “But we can further reduce it using chlorinated and boiling water.”