Prospects for development of a rotavirus vaccine against rotavirus diarrhea in infants and young children.

Major advances have been made in elucidating the etiologic agents of severe infantile diarrhea, and it is clear that rotaviruses are the single most important etiologic agents. Progress in the development of rotavirus vaccine candidates has also moved swiftly with the "Jennerian" approach, in which a related live, attenuated rotavirus strain from a nonhuman host is used as the immunizing antigen. If this strategy is not effective against all rotavirus serotypes, reassortant rotaviruses hold great promise for the development of a multivalent vaccine. Field trials with the "Jennerian" approach vaccines are under way, and phase 1 trials with the reassortants have been initiated.