A new international study published today in The Lancet has found that rotavirus is the leading cause of diarrhoea among infants.

Diarrhoea-causing diseases are the second leading killer of young children globally, after pneumonia. The Global Enteric Multicenter Study (GEMS) is the largest study ever conducted on diarrhoeal diseases in developing countries, enrolling more than 20,000 children from seven sites across Asia and Africa.

GEMS, coordinated by the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Center for Vaccine Development, confirmed rotavirus - for which a vaccine already exists - as the leading cause of diarrheal diseases among infants and identified other top causes for which additional research is urgently needed. GEMS found that approximately one in five children under the age of two suffer from moderate-to-severe diarrhea (MSD) each year, which increased children's risk of death 8.5-fold and lead to stunted growth over a two-month follow-up period.

"Until now, comprehensive data on the burden of diarrheal diseases in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa has been limited," said Dr. Myron M. Levine, GEMS Principal Investigator and Professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

"By filling critical gaps in knowledge, we hope GEMS will help countries across these two highest-burden regions focus their efforts to improve child health."

The recommended that expanding access to existing interventions that protect against or treat all diarrhoeal diseases, including oral rehydration solutions, zinc supplements, clean water and sanitation, can save lives and improve the health of children immediately.