15th International Rotavirus Symposium

Opening Session: Rotavirus Vaccines at 20: Honoring the Journey, Shaping the Future

Welcome and Program Overview – Denise Garrett, Sabin Vaccine Institute, United States

Opening Keynote Address – Duncan Steele, Gates Foundation, United States

Honoring the Champions of Rotavirus – Ali Carter, Sabin Vaccine Institute, United States

Session I: Rotavirus by the Numbers: Unveiling the Global Disease Burden

Causes of Pediatric Diarrhea Hospitalizations and Deaths in Low- and Middle-Income Countries from Global Pediatric Diarrhea Surveillance, 2017-2023 – James Platts-Mills, University of Virginia, United States

Rotavirus diarrhea in under-five children before and after vaccine introduction in Chennai, India – Girish Kumar Chethrapilly Purushothaman, ICMR- National Institute of Epidemiology, India

Genome-Wide Analyses of G1P[8] and G2P[4] Rotaviruses Circulating Before and After Rotavirus Vaccine Introduction in Ghana, Malawi and South Africa – Martin Nyaga, University of the Free State, South Africa

Rotavirus Epidemiology in the Post-Vaccine Era: Insights from Multi-Centric Surveillance from India (2019–2023) – Varsha Sudhir Chaudhary, Christian Medical College, India

Acute gastroenteritis mortality among children under 5 years in Soweto, South Africa: insights from minimally invasive tissue sampling, 2017-2025 – Palesa Makekeng, University of the Witwatersrand,  South Africa

Burden of Rotavirus Gastroenteritis in Children Under Five in Timor-Leste Pre-Vaccination Era: A Foundation for Policy and Evaluation – Luzia Tomas Freitas, University of Oxford, United Kingdom

Session II: From Virology to Immunology: Understanding the Science of Rotavirus

Ghanaian post-vaccine era G3P[6] rotavirus strains are defined by divergent VP3 and artiodactyl-like NSP2 genes – Francis Ekow Dennis, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Ghana

Rotavirus VP6-specific T-cell responses and cellular immunophenotypes in Zambian infants following two and three doses of oral Rotarix vaccine –Natasha Laban, Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia

The long-term impact of Rotavirus vaccines in East and Southern Africa, 2024 – Goitom Weldegebriel, World Health Organization IST ESA, Zimbabwe

Prevalence and Genotype Distribution of Rotavirus among Children in an Urban Informal Settlement in Kenya, Following the Transition to Rotavac Vaccine – Winfred Mbithi, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kenya

Development of a rotavirus VP6-specific IgA and IgG binding antibody assay – Jonathan Mandolo, Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Programme, Malawi

Immunomodulatory and Sex differential effects of a neonatal live attenuated Rotavirus Vaccine RV3-BB in Malawian children – Prisca Benedicto-Matambo, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Malawi

Analysis of post-vaccine serum neutralizing antibody response among infants vaccinated with RotaVac® and RotaSiil® – Sujata Ranshing, ICMR, India

Session III: Crossroads of Infection: Rotavirus, Other Enteric Pathogens, and Commensals

Short- and long-term impacts of rotavirus and all-cause gastroenteritis on the gut antimicrobial gene load in Zambian infants aged 1 to 18 months –
Gonçalo Piedade, Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development, Netherlands

Polymicrobial Interactions in the Gut: The Effect of Candida albicans on Rotavirus Replication and PGE₂ Production – Nikita Barron, University of the Free State, South Africa

Diarrhea Etiology in Children – Revathi Rajendiran, Christian Medical College, India

Common enteric viruses among fatal pediatric diarrheal admissions in coastal Kenya, post-rotavirus vaccine introduction: 2016-2025 – Charles Agoti, Kenya Medical Research Institute – Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kenya

Enteropathogens associated with linear growth faltering in children in Africa after the introduction of rotavirus vaccines – Dilruba Nasrin, University of Maryland Baltimore, United States

Microbiome-derived indole metabolites inhibit rotavirus infection in vitro, in vivo and in humans – Vanessa Harris, Amsterdam UMC, Netherlands

Session IV: Roger Glass Keynote Lecture

Introduction of 6th Roger Glass Keynote Lecture – Roger Glass, CMB Foundation, USA

Roger Glass Lecture – George Armah, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Ghana

Session V: The Road to Protection: Vaccine Development, Efficacy, and Impact

Impact of Rotavirus Vaccine on Malnutrition among Children Aged 12-35 Months: Evidence from National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2019-2021, India – Pretty Priyadarshini, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India

Initial results on the effectiveness of routinely administered Rotasiil Vaccine among children aged 6 to 30 months in the Democratic Republic of Congo – Christophe Luhata Lungayo, National Expanded Program for Immunization, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Mid-Term Evaluation of Rotavirus Vaccine Effectiveness by Diarrheal Severity: Report from ICH-UNTH Rotavirus Sentinel Site, Enugu, Nigeria –
Chinedu Chukwubike, Institute of Child Health, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Nigeria

Preclinical Development of Next-Generation Rotavirus Vaccine – Rebecca Loomis, GSK Vaccines Institute for Global Health (GVGH), United States

A Double blind, Randomized, Placebo Controlled Efficacy Study of Oral Rotavirus (ROTAVAC 5D®) Vaccine in Chilian Infants – Juan Pablo Torres, University of Chile, Chile

Safety, efficacy and immunogenicity of a parenteral trivalent rotavirus subunit vaccine candidate in Ghanaian, Zambian and Malawian infants –
Tushar Tewari, PATH, India

Mechanisms of maternal antibody interference to oral rotavirus vaccination
– Sarah Caddy, Cornell University, United States

Trends in Rotavirus Antigen Positivity Before and After Vaccine Introduction in Awka, Nigeria – Aniedu Peace Nonyekum, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria

Progress in development of RV3-BB rotavirus vaccine to target rotavirus disease from birth – Julie Bines, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute,
Australia

Session VI: From Policy to Practice: Vaccine Implementation and Public Health Strategies

Quantifying Impacts and Identifying Strategies to Improve Rotavirus Vaccines in Low- and Middle-Income Countries – Ernest O. Asare, Yale School of Public Health, United States

Impact of Rotavirus Vaccine on Childhood Rotavirus Hospitalisations in Nigeria: Evidence from the First Two Years After Rotavac Vaccine Introduction – Francis Ola, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Nigeria

The Epidemiology of Rotavirus Gastroenteritis in Palestine  2014 – 2025 –
Wolfgang Rennert, Rostropovich-Vishnevskaya Foundation, United States

Multilevel and Spatial Analysis of Rotavirus Vaccine Dropout among Children Aged 12–35 Months in Mozambique – Edmilson Filimone, Instituto Nacional de Saúde, Mozambique

Session VII: The Cost of Prevention: Economics and Policy in Rotavirus Control

Cost-effectiveness analysis of rotavirus vaccine introduction in Egypt –
Mohamed Shaheen,   National Research Centre, Egypt

Impact of health system financing on rotavirus vaccination costs in Hong Kong, The Netherlands and Australia – E.A.S. Nelson, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China

Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Rotavirus vaccination: a comparative modelling study – Phetsavanh Chanthavilay, University of Health Sciences, Laos

Rotacoster: A tool for estimating the disease burden, impact, and cost-effectiveness of rotavirus vaccination in low- and middle-income countries
Jiye Kwon, Yale School of Public Health, United States

Session VIII: Decoding Rotavirus Genomics

Genomic Analysis of G8P[4] Rotavirus Strains Exhibit DS-1-Like constellation with Evidence of radical changes in important epitope sites – Nkosazana Shange, University of the Free State, South Africa

Genomic Characterization of a Rare Human G5P[6] Rotavirus in Brazil: Evidence of Longstanding Zoonotic Connections with Porcine RVA –
Lais Sampaio de Azevedo, Adolfo Lutz Institute, Brazil

Harnessing rotavirus gene duplications to stabilize recombinant genomes for vaccine vector development – Chantal Ama Agbemabiese, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Ghana

Session IX: Ruth Bishop Keynote Lecture

Introduction to the 4th Ruth Bishop Keynote Lecture – Mary Estes, Baylor College of Medicine, United States

Ruth Bishop Lecture – Harry Greenberg, Stanford University, United States

Session X: The Road to Protection: Vaccine Development, Efficacy, and Impact (2)

Impact of Rotavirus Vaccine on Rotavirus Diarrhea-Associated Hospitalizations Among Children Under 5 Years of Age in Uganda –
Cissy Nalunkuma, Lubaga Hospital, Uganda

Human milk oligosaccharides, oral rotavirus vaccine seroconversion, and rotavirus diarrhea risk in a vaccinated Nicaraguan birth cohort –  Sylvia Becker-Dreps, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States

Evaluating the Protective Impact of Rotavirus Vaccination on Childhood Diarrhea in India: Insights from the National Family Health Survey – Ajeet Kumar Singh, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, India

Effectiveness of Monovalent Rotavirus Vaccine Among Young Children in Pakistan: a Test-Negative Case-Control Evaluation – Tahir Yousafzai, Aga Khan University, Pakistan

Sustained Reduction of Childhood Rotavirus Hospitalizations in Tanzania After Rotavirus Vaccine Introduction – Michael Fausta, Ministry of Health, Tanzania

Effectiveness of Rotavac Against Severe Rotavirus Gastroenteritis in Indonesian Children During Early Vaccine Introduction Phase – Jarir At Thobari, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

Intranasal immunization with Lactococcus cell wall-derived particles carrying rotavirus VP6 and FliC131 reduces viral shedding in a murine model
– Carlos Facundo Temprana, Laboratorio de Inmunología y Virología, Argentina

Preliminary Immune Correlates of Risk Analysis from the trivalent P2-VP8 Rotavirus Vaccine Trial – Gabrielle Lemire, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, United States

Assessing the Impact of Ghana’s Rotavac® Vaccine Switch on Childhood Rotavirus Incidence and Hospitalizations – Belinda Larteley Lartey, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Ghana

Session XI: From Policy to Practice: Vaccine Implementation and Public Health Strategies

Optimizing Rotavirus Vaccine Efficacy Through Advanced Cold Chain Systems in Rural Uganda – Belinda Brenda Nanyange, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda

From Infant to Birth Dose: A Scoping Review of Implementation Challenges for Rotavirus and Birth Dose Vaccines in Low- and Middle-Income Countries – Risalia Eni Arisanti, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

Bridging Access and Trust: A Community-Driven Strategy to Strengthen Rotavirus Vaccine Uptake in Refugee-Hosting Districts of South Western Uganda – Muhumuza Umar, Africa CDC, Uganda

Rota Vaccine Delivery in active conflict settings in Cameroon: Leveraging community key actors to negotiate access and vaccinate in locked communities – Foyeth-K Eugène-L, Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services, Cameroon

A decade of rotavirus vaccination in the World Health Organization, African Region: An analysis of vaccine coverage from 2012 – 2023 – Jason Mwenda, Sefako Makgatho University of Pretoria, South Africa

Maternal-infant rotavirus-specific antibody kinetics reveal an optimal window for rotavirus vaccine boosting in Malawi – Khuzwayo Jere,Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Programme, Malawi

Post-Launch Assessment of Rotavirus Vaccine Implementation in Indonesia: Key Findings from 11 Provinces – Rosyana Lieyanty, Clinton Health Access Initiative, Indonesia

Early rotavirus outbreak response in a rural setting: a district-level health system case study from Ngamiland, Botswana – Sandra Maripe, North West District Health Management Team, Botswana

Top Ten Poster Prizes:

• Mamta Chawla Sarkar – Endo-metabolomics profiling reveals indispensability of aspartate-glutamate metabolic pathway for effective rotavirus replication in host cells
• Edy Chissaque – Rotavirus Vaccine Coverage and Associated Factors Among Children Aged 12–23 Months in Mozambique: A National-Level Analysis
• Zinabu Melsebo – Case Study: Managing an Unplanned Rotavirus Vaccine Switch- lessons from Ethiopia
• Sandrama Nadan – Setting up rotavirus immunogenicity testing in South Africa
• Latif Ndeketa – The 7 year impact of rotavirus vaccine and the effect of the polio vaccine: an interrupted time-series and case-control analysis for Blantyre, Malawi
• Xaira Jimena Rivera Gutierrez – Exploring Viral Interactions in the Gut using Human Intestinal Enteroids: Co-infections Between Oral Rotavirus Vaccines and Enteroviruses
• Sarosh Sher Ali -Global Seasonal Trends of Rotavirus Cases in the Post-Vaccine Era: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
• Beckie Tagbo – Evaluating the Impact of Rotavac Vaccine on Rotavirus Gastroenteritis in Enugu State, Nigeria: A Retrospective Analysis
• Muhumuza Umar – Solar-Powered Vaccine Caravans and Refugee Storytellers: A Rotavirus Triumph in Uganda’s Camps.
• Kipkiruri Zadock – Early Rotavac® Vaccine Effectiveness Estimate from Coastal Kenya following Switch from Rotarix™, January 2023-April 2025

(listed alphabetically)

Closing Session: Beyond 20 Years: Accelerating Progress, Expanding Impact

Rotavirus Symposium 2025: Key Themes and Takeaways – Julie Bines, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Australia

Panel Discussion – From Gaps to Gains: Strategies for Sustainable and Equitable Rotavirus Control

• Michelle Groome,University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa (Moderator)
• Miren Iturriza, Gates Foundation, United States
• Mick Mulders, World Health Organization
• Alpha Oumar Diallo, CDC Foundation, United States
• Michael Besong, Gavi, Switzerland

Closing Address –  Helen Rees, University of the Witwatersrand,  South Africa