The World Health Organization has recommended that health authorities in all nations being routinely vaccinating young children against rotavirus, which causes 500 000 diarrheal deaths and 2 million hospitalizations every year.

WHO, based in Geneva, Switzerland, said 85 percent of deaths caused by rotavirus occur in developing countries. it is hoped that WHO’s recommendation will spur the use of the vaccine in Asia and Africa. The vaccine is already recommended for use in the Americas and Europe.

The recommendation was made by a group called the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization, which reviewed evidence about the vaccine’s effectiveness. The group reviewed data from a clinical trial in South Africa and Malawi that found the vaccine cut severe diarrheal episodes.The vaccine is also being tested in clinical trials in Japan, India, Mali, Ghana, Kenya, Bangladesh and Vietnam.

“This WHO recommendation clears the way for vaccines that will protect children in the developing world from one of the most deadly diseases they face,” said Dr Tachi Yamada, President of the Global Health Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in a press release issued by WHO.