Rotavirus vaccines pass big safety tests

The largest corporate-funded medical trials in history indicate that two new vaccines against rotavirus, a leading cause of childhood mortality worldwide, are both effective and safe.

Rotavirus causes childhood diarrhea and is responsible for several hundred thousand deaths each year, mostly in developing countries.

Merck & Co. of Whitehouse Station, N.J., calls its vaccine RotaTeq, and London-based GlaxoSmithKline calls its product Rotarix.