What is the difference between Rotashield and RotaTeq vaccines?
Rotashield was the first rotavirus vaccine licensed in the U.S. in 1998. This vaccine contained a rhesus monkey parent strain with genes that expressed an antigen for the predominant serotypes of human rotavirus. Rotashield protected against 3 strains of rotavirus. This vaccine was withdrawn from the U.S. market within one year of its introduction because of its association with intussusception. RotaTeq is the second rotavirus vaccine manufactured by a different pharmaceutical company and licensed in the U.S. in 2006. This rotavirus vaccine contains 5 strains of live rotavirus developed from human and bovine rotavirus strains.
