Childhood Diarrhea in the Maghreb Arabic Union and Health Benefits of Rotavirus Vaccination

Abstract

Diarrhea is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children under 5 in developing countries. Two rotavirus vaccines have been licensed in more than 100 countries around the world since 2006. In the Arab Maghreb countries, rotavirus vaccines were initially introduced in Morocco in 2010 and then in Libya and Mauritania in 2013 and 2014, respectively. This chapter describes the burden of childhood diarrhea diseases and the health benefits of rotavirus vaccination in the Arab Maghreb countries, with a view to restricting the evolution of the disease and to identify features differentiating its epidemiology. Information provided in this chapter were extracted from the World Health Organization's weekly reports and information issued by the ministries of health in these countries as well as from published papers. The data shows a high rate of