Every year, hundreds of thousands of children die from diarrhoeal diseases – even though vaccines exist. Now, CAMRIA researchers are leading a large new EU-funded project that aims to make life-saving vaccines work better for children in low-income countries.
The four-year project, called PRoRota, has received more than 5 million euros in funding and will involve 4,000 newborn babies in Tanzania, Malawi and Côte d’Ivoire.
Why do vaccines work less well in some countries?
Vaccines against rotavirus – one of the main causes of severe diarrhoea in children – work very well in high-income countries. But in many parts of Africa and other low- and middle-income countries, these same vaccines protect children much less.
One possible reason is the children’s gut microbiome – the community of helpful bacteria in the intestine that supports the immune system. When this balance is disturbed, vaccines may not trigger a strong enough immune response.
Can probiotics help protect babies?
The PRoRota project will test a promising idea:
Can giving probiotics – beneficial bacteria – to newborns help their bodies respond better to vaccines and reduce diarrhoea?
Half of the babies in the study will receive probiotics from birth to one month, followed by booster doses at 6, 10 and 14 weeks of age, together with routine rotavirus vaccination and hygiene education for families. The other half will receive a placebo. The children will be followed until six months of age to measure:
- how often they develop diarrhoea (the main outcome)
- how well their immune systems respond to the vaccine
- whether probiotics reduce the risk of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the gut
The project will also study whether this approach is safe, affordable and acceptable for families and health services.
Linking diarrhoea, climate and antibiotic resistance
Beyond probiotics, PRoRota will explore how climate patterns and disease data can be used to create early-warning systems for diarrhoea outbreaks. This could help health authorities respond faster when risk is high.
By reducing diarrhoea, the project may also reduce the need for antibiotics – an important step in the global fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a core focus area for CAMRIA.
Strong CAMRIA and UiB involvement
The project is coordinated by CAMRIA researcher Dr Sabrina Moyo together with international partners, and involves a broad team of researchers from the University of Bergen. This includes CAMRIA researchers Nina Langeland and Bjørn Blomberg, as well as colleagues from the Department of Clinical Science and other UiB faculties, including Amani Mori, Rebecca Cox and Iain Johnston. Together with partners in Africa, the team brings expertise in infectious diseases, microbiology, public health and data modelling.
A project with global impact
If successful, PRoRota could change how childhood diarrhoea is prevented worldwide – improving vaccine effectiveness, saving lives and reducing antibiotic resistance.
For CAMRIA, the project shows how research at the University of Bergen contributes directly to solving some of the world’s most urgent health challenges.