An Indo-US collaborative project could develop India's first vaccine against Rotavirus, which causes diarrhoea, a senior US embassy health official said in Delhi on Thursday.
Some 100,000 children die in India due to diarrhoea each year.
American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health have joined hands with experts from Indian institutes, including New Delhi-based All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Science and Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech International, in efforts to bring down India's child mortality rates.
They are conducting clinical trials in India investigating two live, oral vaccines for their ability to prevent rotavirus diarrhoea.
The initiative is financially supported by the Gates Foundation's Children's Vaccine Program.
The Indo-US Vaccine Action Program is also witnessing several other exciting developments, including cutting edge research on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other diseases.
Among the future projects that might be taken up are research on hepatitis, diabetics and cardio-vascular diseases. Also on the cards are collaboration on developing technology and medicines for focussed intervention against emerging and re-emerging diseases such as SARS and Avian Flu.
The American experts are also assisting India's drive against polio, the official said.
