DAR ES SALAAM: TANZANIA has launched a clinical trial to determine whether probiotics can strengthen the protection provided by rotavirus vaccines, reduce diarrhoeal disease in children and cut antibiotic use, potentially helping to curb antimicrobial resistance.
The PRORota Clinical Trial, launched in Dar es Salaam by the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) and international partners, will examine whether probiotics can improve the effectiveness of rotavirus vaccination and reduce diarrhoeal illnesses among children.
The study brings together researchers from Tanzania, Norway, Malawi and Ivory Coast and is supported by the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP).
The research comes as Tanzania continues to make progress in reducing deaths among mothers and children while infectious diseases remain a significant public-health challenge.
“PRORota is therefore highly important by investigating whether probiotics can enhance the effectiveness of rotavirus vaccination, reduce diarrhoeal diseases and potentially reduce antibiotic exposure and AMR,” Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office responsible for Health, Prof Tumaini Nagu, said at the launch.
Tanzania has recorded substantial improvements in maternal and child survival in recent years.
Maternal mortality fell from 554 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2015/16 to 104 per 100,000 in 2022, an approximately 80 per cent decline, Prof Nagu said.
Under-five mortality also fell from 65 to 43 deaths per 1,000 live births, while neonatal mortality declined slightly from 25 to 24 per 1,000 live births.
But infectious diseases continue to contribute significantly to deaths among newborns. Hospital-based evidence shows neonatal sepsis accounts for 13.6 per cent of neonatal deaths, while other neonatal infections account for 8.8 per cent, according to Prof Nagu.
Among late neonatal deaths, sepsis and other infectious diseases together account for almost half of deaths, she said.
Diarrhoeal diseases remain another significant and preventable cause of illness and death among children, while also driving demand for healthcare and the use of antibiotics.
That creates a direct link between efforts to prevent childhood infections and the fight against antimicrobial resistance, which occurs when microorganisms become resistant to medicines used to treat them.
The PRORota trial is designed to establish whether probiotics can provide an additional benefit alongside rotavirus vaccination.
Researchers will assess whether the intervention can improve vaccine effectiveness and reduce diarrhoeal disease. A reduction in infections could also mean fewer children require antibiotics, potentially reducing unnecessary exposure to the medicines.
Prof Nagu said the study would help establish whether probiotics could deliver those benefits while contributing to efforts to tackle antimicrobial resistance.
The trial therefore goes beyond testing a nutritional intervention. Its findings could provide evidence on whether strengthening protection against childhood diarrhoea can also help reduce antibiotic consumption.
NIMR Director General Prof Said Aboud said the institute would oversee key ethical and scientific aspects of the study, which involves infants across three countries.
NIMR will lead the ethics work package and coordinate the Data Safety Monitoring Board as well as an independent ethics adviser, he said.
The institute will also support the research consortium in addressing ethical issues that arise during implementation, while maintaining research integrity and protecting participants, Prof Aboud said.
MUHAS Acting Vice-Chancellor Prof Bruno Sunguya said the university was committed to research that addresses major public-health challenges and improves health outcomes for children.
