The U.S. government has recommended adding GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Rotarix vaccine to the choices for immunizing infants against the deadly intestinal virus that causes diarrhea and vomiting in children. Rotarix is a liquid and given in a two-dose series to infants from 6 to 24 weeks of age.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has already endorsed Merck and Co Inc's RotaTeq saying both are equally effective. There are many different strains of rotavirus. The vaccine protects against rotavirus gastroenteritis caused by the G1, G3, G4, and G9 strains

The German cabinet has earmarked 30 million euros ($46.7 million) until the end of 2010 to combat mounting obesity in the general population. The national program is intended to improve the well-being, productivity and quality of life of Germans, the health ministry said.

The "In Shape" program, prepared by Health Minister Ulla Schmidt in cooperation with Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection Minister Horst Seehofer, aims to cut disease related to obesity noticeably by 2020. The national level program will aim to achieve the target by educating the youth on healthy eating and sports, as well as tougher standards for school lunches

There is a prevalence of parasitic diseases among poor urban families in the U.S., according to Dr. Peter Hotez of the George Washington University. Other ailments like dengue fever and Chagas disease associated with developing nations may also become more common in America due to climate changes.

While these ailments do not claim lives, they negatively affect the development of a child, his intellectual development, hearing and could cause heart disease. As the malady affects poor people, it perpetuates their state of poverty since the infections could last for years or lifetimes

First time parents should think twice about owning a cat if they have relatives with eczema, a skin disease, a new study finds. A gene mutation and exposure to cats at birth may increase a child's risk of developing eczema during their first year, researchers from the UK and Denmark say.

Other than environmental causes, eczema runs in families and is linked to functional faults in the gene that produces filaggrin (FLG), a protective protein in the skin. Having the mutant FLG gene increased the risk of eczema in a baby's first year twofold. Adding exposure to a cat quadrupled that risk, researchers say

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a vaccine that treats five childhood ailments in a single dose. Pentacel would reduce the number of injections children get before they are 18 months old by as many as one-third.

It is the first 5-in-1 pediatric combination for immunization against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib). The vaccine is approved for administration as a four-dose series at two, four, six and 15 to 18 months of age. The first dose may be given as early as six weeks of age