Cure for the Rotavirus

By the time they reach five years of age, almost all children will have contracted rotavirus. Each year, about 55,000 children in the United States are hospitalized due to rotavirus, the most common cause of diarrhea among children. Children with rotavirus often suffer from a fever and stomach pain, and endure three to eight days of vomiting and watery diarrhea. Most rotavirus illness occurs in young children under age two.

Characteristics of Rotavirus Infection

• Children suffering from rotavirus may have a fever, runny nose and a stomachache, but most commonly suffer from diarrhea. The vomiting and diarrhea caused by rotavirus can lead to severe dehydration in many cases. Your child may be severely dehydrated if she is thirsty, irritable, or restless or has a dry mouth or tongue, sunken eyes, or dry skin. In children, less trips to the bathroom than normal can signify dehydration, while dehydration in infants may be observed by a dry diaper for longer than typical. A child may be infected with rotavirus for two days before displaying any symptoms of the illness.

Rotavirus Transmission

• Rotavirus is spread through a fecal-oral route, which means that the virus is present in fecal matter and can be acquired when a substance that had contact with the fecal matter then comes intro contact with the mouth, eyes or nose of an uninfected individual. Rotavirus infection commonly occurs in childcare facilities when children are exposed to contaminated surfaces and don't regularly wash their hands. Childcare workers who don't wash their hands between diaper changes can also spread rotavirus.

  While rotavirus infection is highly contagious, outbreaks typically occur in the winter and spring and subside during summer and fall months. Children under age two are most commonly infected with rotavirus, although adults can become infected as well. Symptoms in adults are generally mild due to partial immunity sustained from a previous rotavirus infection.

Rotavirus Treatment

• If an infected child is severely dehydrated from vomiting and diarrhea, medical attention in a hospital is necessary. Intravenous (IV) fluids are used to rehydrate the child. Only about 1 in 40 rotavirus cases are severe enough to require this type of treatment.

  A child with a milder case of rotavirus may still suffer from dehydration, but not to the same extent as extreme rotavirus cases. These children with mild symptoms can be effectively treated at home with increased fluids. A doctor may recommend or prescribe a specific type of fluid that can replace fluids and electrolytes lost due to vomiting and diarrhea.

  Rotavirus infection is a virus and therefore cannot be treated with antibiotics.

Rotavirus Prevention

• The best way to ensure that your child does not become ill with or dehydrated from rotavirus is to prevent the illness in the first place. Frequent hand washing can decrease the child's likelihood of contracting the illness. In addition, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends the rotavirus vaccine for routine use in infants to prevent rotavirus. This vaccine is effective in preventing up to 98 percent of severe rotavirus cases. Infants should be vaccinated with two doses of rotavirus vaccines at two and four months of age or with three doses of vaccine at two, four and six months of age depending on the brand of vaccine used by the child's doctor.