A new study shows that several lives could be saved by vaccinating infants against rotavirus.

According to a study conducted in Malawi and South Africa vaccinations in infants reduced the rate of rotavirus which is life threatening by 61 per cent.

In Mexico according to a second study there was a 66 per cent decline in deaths from diarrhea disease in children who were 11 months and younger during the 2009 rotavirus season compared to 2003-2006. Following this, the rotavirus vaccination was made a national vaccination programme later.

Dr Kathleen Neuzil, a senior advisor for immunization at PATH, an international non-profit organization, said, "A disease that may be a nuisance in the U. S. can be a killer in a poorer country. Death from diarrheal disease in general is the second-leading cause of death among kids in developing nations."

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) more than half a million children die from rotavirus infection every year.

Neuzil also added that rotavirus was common in the United States also.