Diarrhoea remains one of the biggest threats to children worldwide, killing half a million infants a year, according to a major analysis published today.
The disease is the fourth leading cause of death for children and is responsible for 8.6% of all deaths of children under the age of five, according to the study in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
Two countries, India and Nigeria, are responsible for the bulk of these deaths, accounting for 42% of them, according to Dr Ali Mokdad, of the University of Washington, Seattle, USA.
The researchers say the disease killed 1.31 million people in 2015 and this included 499,000 child deaths.
Deaths from the disease reduced by a third between 2005 and 2015 with large reductions in sub-Saharan African countries, according to the report. The rotavirus was the main cause of death from diarrhoea, they say – but mortality rates have been cut significantly by the introduction of a vaccine, they say. The virus is now in use in 91 countries.
Dr Mokdad said: "More thorough understanding of each cause of diarrhoea and how this varies geographically will help target interventions to reduce death and disability from these preventable diseases.
A greater focus on vaccine development and more intentional improvements in safe water, sanitation, and hygiene will help accelerate reductions in deaths and sickness."
He added: "Despite some promising reductions in mortality, the devastating impact of these diseases cannot be overlooked. Immediate and sustained actions must be taken to help low-income countries address this problem by increasing healthcare access and the use of oral rehydration solutions."
Dr Ali Mokdad et al. Estimates of global, regional, and national morbidity, mortality, and aetiologies of diarrhoeal diseases: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet Infectious Diseases 2 June 2017 [abstract]
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