Rotavirus vaccines could save an estimated 228,000 lives worldwide each year by reducing deadly diarrhea, the World Health Organization said.

Strains of rotavirus, disease surveillance and vaccine-cost effectiveness are outlined in special edition of the Journal of Infectious Diseases, which supports WHO recommendations that rotavirus vaccines be included in every country's national immunization program.

Rotavirus is the leading cause of severe diarrheal disease and exacts a heavy toll on the world's poorest countries, said Dr. John Wecker, director of the Vaccine Access and Delivery Global Program at PATH, a non-profit health group.

"Rotavirus is one of the most deadly diseases children in the developing world face," Wecker said in a release Thursday. "Vaccination holds the key to making it one of the most preventable diseases."

Vaccines preventing rotavirus have been licensed in more than 100 countries. The vaccines, however, have not yet reached many of the places where the rotavirus burden is greatest, especially in African and Asian countries.