About the Authors

Lorenz von Seidlein

To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: lseidlein@ivi.int

Affiliation International Vaccine Institute, Seoul, Korea

Deok Ryun Kim

Affiliation International Vaccine Institute, Seoul, Korea

Mohammad Ali

Affiliation International Vaccine Institute, Seoul, Korea

Hyejon Lee

Affiliation International Vaccine Institute, Seoul, Korea

XuanYi Wang

Affiliations International Vaccine Institute, Seoul, Korea , Fudan University, Shanghai, China

Vu Dinh Thiem

Affiliation National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Hanoi, Vietnam

Do Gia Canh

Affiliation National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Hanoi, Vietnam

Wanpen Chaicumpa

Affiliation Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Thammasat University, Rangsit Center, Patumthani, Thailand

Magdarina D Agtini

Affiliation National Institute of Health Research and Development, Jakarta Indonesia, Ministry of Health, Jakarta, Indonesia

Anowar Hossain

Affiliation Centre for Health and Population Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Zulfiqar A Bhutta

Affiliation Department of Paediatrics, The Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan

Carl Mason

Affiliation United States Armed Forces Research Institute for Medical Sciences, Bangkok, Thailand

Ornthipa Sethabutr

Affiliation United States Armed Forces Research Institute for Medical Sciences, Bangkok, Thailand

Kaisar Talukder

Affiliation Centre for Health and Population Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh

G. B Nair

Affiliation Centre for Health and Population Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Jacqueline L Deen

Affiliation International Vaccine Institute, Seoul, Korea

Karen Kotloff

Affiliation Centers for Vaccine Development, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America

John Clemens

Affiliation International Vaccine Institute, Seoul, Korea

Competing Interests

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Author Contributions

LvS coordinated the studies in the six countries and wrote the first draft of this paper. DRK was responsible for the analysis. MA developed and managed the database. HL coordinated the microbiological aspects of the project. XYW, WC, MDA, AH, and ZAB were the principal investigators responsible for the drafting, adaptation, and implementations of the study protocol. VDT coordinated the study site in Vietnam. CM and OS processed the PCR specimens and analyzed the findings. KT was responsible for the analysis of S. flexneri isolates that did not agglutinate with commercial serotypes. GBN provided advice on the interpretation of monoclonal serotype results and PCR findings. JLD and KK provided essential support for the interpretation of the data. JC conceived the project, attracted funding, and oversaw all stages of the project. All authors contributed to the writing of the final version of this paper.