Anita Zaidi of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said that the global introduction of vaccines in the last 20 years had been a worldwide success story.

But the rotavirus vaccine, which was introduced into the routine vaccination schedule in 2009, has been particularly effective because of the number of children struck down by the disease.

Dr Zaidi, director of vaccine development, surveillance and diarrhoeal and enteric diseases at the foundation, made her comments during World Immunisation Week.

She said: “This is a good time for the world to know how much progress we have made on the rotavirus vaccine but also how much work needs to be done."

The only treatment for rotavirus is the administration of fluids, with the most serious cases requiring admission to hospital and intravenous rehydration. Children in developing countries who cannot access care are particularly vulnerable, Dr Zaidi added.