ABSTRACT
Diarrheal diseases have been known to cause death in many children below the age of five years, and rotavirus infection represents a major health problem in the world today, particularly in developing countries. The recent outbreak of rotavirus gastroenteritis in Samoa led to the introduction of her debut national immunization program on rotavirus vaccination for infants. Despite the introduction of anti-viral and anti-emetic drugs as of the containment approaches towards the virus, risk factors, preventive measures and public health preparedness against rotavirus infection are poorly understood in Samoa. This review aims to use available evidence on rotavirus literature to elucidate and map preventive strategies for the recently emerged rotavirus infections in Samoa. We conducted a search strategy using online medical literature databases and retrieval systems. A designated set of keywords such as rotavirus, gastroenteritis, outbreak, risk factors, containment measures, vaccination and Samoa were inserted in electronic databases to retrieve articles. The databases included PubMed, Google Scholar, MEDLINE, Scinapse, and EBSCO host. Findings from this review addressed the impact of rotavirus infection, associated threats and other preventive measures. Introducing useful health frameworks in pursuing possible methods such as improved water quality, exclusive breast feeding, improved laboratory diagnostics and outbreak surveillance, may be essential in addressing alternate approaches towards containment of the disease in Samoa and other Pacific Island Countries and Territories.
ABSTRACT
Diarrheal diseases have been known to cause death in many children below the age of five years, and rotavirus infection represents a major health problem in the world today, particularly in developing countries. The recent outbreak of rotavirus gastroenteritis in Samoa led to the introduction of her debut national immunization program on rotavirus vaccination for infants. Despite the introduction of anti-viral and anti-emetic drugs as of the containment approaches towards the virus, risk factors, preventive measures and public health preparedness against rotavirus infection are poorly understood in Samoa. This review aims to use available evidence on rotavirus literature to elucidate and map preventive strategies for the recently emerged rotavirus infections in Samoa. We conducted a search strategy using online medical literature databases and retrieval systems. A designated set of keywords such as rotavirus, gastroenteritis, outbreak, risk factors, containment measures, vaccination and Samoa were inserted in electronic databases to retrieve articles. The databases included PubMed, Google Scholar, MEDLINE, Scinapse, and EBSCO host. Findings from this review addressed the impact of rotavirus infection, associated threats and other preventive measures. Introducing useful health frameworks in pursuing possible methods such as improved water quality, exclusive breast feeding, improved laboratory diagnostics and outbreak surveillance, may be essential in addressing alternate approaches towards containment of the disease in Samoa and other Pacific Island Countries and Territories.