Safety and Immune Response of a Rotavirus Vaccine in HIV-infected and Uninfected Children Born to HIV-infected Mothers

Rotavirus is the leading cause of severe diarrhea in infants and young children, accounting for 45% of severe diarrhea disease in both developed and developing countries. Annually, rotavirus causes approximately 111 million episodes of gastroenteritis requiring home care, 25 million clinic visits, 2 million hospitalizations, and approximately 440,000 deaths in children less than 5 years of age, of which approximately 90% of hospitalizations and 99% of deaths occur in developing countries. Although rotavirus infection is not more common in HIV-infected children, it complicates their care and interferes with their nutrition. Chances of death by these infections can be greater in HIV-infected children when they also suffer from wasting, malnutrition, and/or opportunistic infections. The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the Rotavirus vaccine candidate, RotaTeq, in HIV-infected and uninfected children born to HIV-infected mothers.