Correspondence to

Infectious diarrhoea is a common disease of childhood. It is estimated to be responsible for over 1.3 million deaths per year, predominantly in resource-poor countries. In wealthy nations, it causes signifi cant morbidity, healthcare burden and associated cost. In both scenarios, the most common cause is rotavirus. This article reviews the experience of primary prevention of rotavirus disease through immunisation and considers the case for extending vaccine use further in Europe and globally. THE SCALE OF THE PROBLEM The ubiquitous nature of rotavirus makes it a hard disease to quantify. By the age of 5, all children