Checkmate for a Child-Killer?

For medical professionals battling one of the world’s deadliest childhood infections, 1998 offered soaring hope. That fall, the first vaccine against human rotavirus–a highly contagious if somewhat obscure diarrhea-causing pathogen–went into pediatric use throughout the United States. The following year brought a shattering disappointment: Reports of a rare but serious side effect caused the manufacturer to suspend the vaccine’s production.