Vaccine maker, Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL), has introduced its oral rotavirus vaccine, Rotavac, for the immunisation of children against life-threatening diarrhoea disease.

The firm said this would save 50, 000 children from dying from Rotavirus infection that causes fatalities of children under the age of five every year in Nigeria.

According to reports, Nigeria currently accounts for 14 per cent of all childhood rotavirus deaths globally, making it the country with the second-highest number of rotavirus deaths in the world.

The report noted that rotavirus infection causes about 50,000 child fatalities under the age of five each year in Nigeria, it said citing data.

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Chairman and Managing Director, Dr Krishna Ella noted that novel vaccines from India are saving lives globally, adding that Rotavac was safe and effective.

“Rotavirus is one of the leading causes of diarrheal disease and is responsible for over 40% of diarrhoea in children.

“It accounts for 215,000 of the 525,000 under-5 mortality worldwide each year that are attributed to diarrhoea diseases, making it the most common cause of severe diarrhoea,” Bharat Biotech said in a statement on Friday.

The statement noted that data on Rotovac had been published in over 20 international publications, including the Phase III results that were published in Lancet in 2014.