Vietnam has become the fourth country in the world and the second inSoutheast Asia to be able to produce an anti-diarrhea vaccine forchildren.
Research done to manufacture the Rotavin-M1 vaccine hasbeen successful, said Le Thi Luan, Deputy Director of the Ministry ofHealth (MoH)'s Centre for Research and Production of Vaccines andBiologicals.
Rotavin-M1 was produced from the cell of an Africanblue monkey's (Macaca Mulatta) kidney. To have a clean source of monkeysfor research and production of the vaccine, MoH set up a facility onReu Island in the northern province of Quang Ninh for the purpose ofbreeding and supplying them.
The project, which began in 1998,focused on the creation of the Rota virus for the purpose of developing avaccine and designing a production process, said Luan.
"The quality of the vaccine is equivalent to Belgium's Rotarix vaccine, which has been used in Vietnam," she said.
Each dose of the domestic vaccine would cost around 200,000 VND (9.5 USD), one-third that of imported vaccines.
Itwas tested on 30 adults and 1,000 children aged from 12 weeks to sixyears for the past three years in northern Phu Tho province's Thanh Sondistrict and Thai Binh province's Thai Binh city. Test results showedthe vaccine was safe for both adults and children.
The vaccinehas been evaluated by the US Centre for Disease Control and Preventionand approved for use by the National Institute for Control of Vaccinesand Biologicals.
MoH granted a product license for the vaccine tobe sold in the domestic market last May. So far some 100,000 childrenin 60 localities have received the vaccine, Luan said.
If it isused in the national vaccination programme, the Centre for Research andProduction of Vaccines and Biologicals can supply about 4.5 million ofdoses per year, she said.
The vaccine must be administeredorally, not injected. The first dose should be given when the childrenare between six and ten months old, and the booster dose two monthsafter the first.
Diarrhea caused by the Rota virus is an acute intestinal inflammation.
InVietnam, more than 50 percent of children under five years old sufferfrom the disease each year, according to MoH statistics. About5,300-6,800 children under five years are estimated to die of thedisease each year.-VNA
Research done to manufacture the Rotavin-M1 vaccine hasbeen successful, said Le Thi Luan, Deputy Director of the Ministry ofHealth (MoH)'s Centre for Research and Production of Vaccines andBiologicals.
Rotavin-M1 was produced from the cell of an Africanblue monkey's (Macaca Mulatta) kidney. To have a clean source of monkeysfor research and production of the vaccine, MoH set up a facility onReu Island in the northern province of Quang Ninh for the purpose ofbreeding and supplying them.
The project, which began in 1998,focused on the creation of the Rota virus for the purpose of developing avaccine and designing a production process, said Luan.
"The quality of the vaccine is equivalent to Belgium's Rotarix vaccine, which has been used in Vietnam," she said.
Each dose of the domestic vaccine would cost around 200,000 VND (9.5 USD), one-third that of imported vaccines.
Itwas tested on 30 adults and 1,000 children aged from 12 weeks to sixyears for the past three years in northern Phu Tho province's Thanh Sondistrict and Thai Binh province's Thai Binh city. Test results showedthe vaccine was safe for both adults and children.
The vaccinehas been evaluated by the US Centre for Disease Control and Preventionand approved for use by the National Institute for Control of Vaccinesand Biologicals.
MoH granted a product license for the vaccine tobe sold in the domestic market last May. So far some 100,000 childrenin 60 localities have received the vaccine, Luan said.
If it isused in the national vaccination programme, the Centre for Research andProduction of Vaccines and Biologicals can supply about 4.5 million ofdoses per year, she said.
The vaccine must be administeredorally, not injected. The first dose should be given when the childrenare between six and ten months old, and the booster dose two monthsafter the first.
Diarrhea caused by the Rota virus is an acute intestinal inflammation.
InVietnam, more than 50 percent of children under five years old sufferfrom the disease each year, according to MoH statistics. About5,300-6,800 children under five years are estimated to die of thedisease each year.-VNA
