Hawke's Bay babies are now eligible for funded vaccination against rotavirus gastroenteritis caused by the rotavirus infection.
Pharmac has funded RotaTeq and added it to the immunisation schedule starting today. An oral vaccine, it is squirted into the baby's mouth. It helps prevent diarrhoea and vomiting caused by rotavirus infection.
Population Health director Caroline McElnay said this was great news for babies and their parents given the vaccine's reputation for reducing hospitalisations and work days lost by parents.
In one of the largest vaccine trials in history, involving 68,000 infants, the vaccine is said to have reduced the rate of hospitalisations and emergency department visits by 94 per cent and cut the number of guardian work days lost by 86 per cent.
It is already available in 100 countries, and more than 109 million doses have been distributed worldwide.
The vaccination should be done during the current routine immunisation visits at 6 weeks, 3 months and 5 months of age. But initially babies are eligible for the newly funded vaccine if the first dose is administered before they are 15 weeks old.
The final dose must be given before the baby is 8 months old.
"Diarrhoea and vomiting in infants and young children can lead to dehydration and a trip to the doctor or hospital," Dr McElnay said. "What is less well known is that rotavirus infection is the most common cause of severe gastroenteritis in young children.
"Almost all children will be infected by rotavirus by 5 years of age.
"It is highly contagious and although symptoms vary, those typically associated with rotavirus gastroenteritis include vomiting, fever, abdominal pain and watery diarrhoea, which can last for three to eight days.
"These symptoms can lead to severe dehydration, causing one in every 43 children aged under 5 in New Zealand to need hospital treatment," Dr McElnay said.
Hawke's Bay had run a pilot programme of rotavirus vaccination in seven GP practices over the last two years.
"The results from that show a marked decrease in presentations for gastroenteritis and or dehydration.
"We are very pleased that the rotavirus vaccine is now being included in the free nationwide immunisation schedule so that all infants throughout the country will benefit," she said.