In the United States, where data are available, these infections are an important cause of dehydration and hospitalization. No vaccines are licensed in Canada or the United States. Advances toward development of a successful rotavirus vaccine have been slow. A variety of live attenuated vaccines have been developed including animal rotavirus reassortment strains and temperature-sensitive human rotavirus mutants. Efficacy of candidate vaccines is still under evaluation.
Vaccines are unlikely to become available on the market before a few years.
Currently, epidemiologic data on rotavirus infections in Canada are almost totally lacking. A Canadian cost-benefit analysis will hopefully be conducted in the near future.