Life Cycle of the Rotavirus

The rotavirus is a common epidemic, with over 500,000 infants and children dying from it a year worldwide. Many children who live in developing countries struggle with malnutrition, unsanitary environmental conditions and poor health care and are at a greater risk of dying from this preventable infection than children who live in countries such as the United States and Canada.

About

• Before the rotavirus vaccines were produced in 2006, children were contracting the infection with high regularity. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), about 55,000 American children under the age of 5 were hospitalized each year with the rotavirus infection. The virus is an intestinal infection that causes diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain in children and infants.

Symptoms

• Some children with the infection experience fever, vomiting, abdominal cramps and recurring watery diarrhea. In most severe cases, infants and children experience severe dehydration. Signs for parent and guardians to be aware of are increased thirst, bouts of restlessness, irritability, dry mouth, dry skin, children who do not urinate often and, for infants, a diaper that remains dry for several hours.

Contagious

• Children can become infected from contaminated toys.

  The virus is spreadable. The CDC attests the rotavirus can live in an environment such as a day care, home, hospital or school for roughly two days. Once an infant or child becomes infected, the virus can remain in the body from anywhere for three to eight days. Since the virus passes though human stool, states Kids Health, children who have the virus and do not wash their hands after using the bathroom can contaminate food, objects, people and other children.

  In other instances, parents who may have infants with the rotavirus and do not wash their hands after changing diapers run the risk of spreading to their other children or infecting themselves. However, the virus does not affect adults as severely as it affects children.

Prevention/Solution

• Parents, guardians and day care providers can prevent the spread of the rotavirus by making sure children wash their hands after they use the bathroom or after playing with other children.

  Another prevention is rotavirus vaccines, according to the Healthy Children website, sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). It suggests babies should get vaccinated for the virus as part as their immunization schedule. AAP affirms babies who get the vaccine are 75 percent less likely to get the virus. However, for those children who get vaccinated and still contract the virus, their complications will be less severe and will be less likely to be hospitalized.

Home Treatments

• For children who experience mild symptoms of the rotavirus such as mild diarrhea and dehydration, Kids Health recommends parents should seek the advice of their pediatrician for dietary information regarding what to feed their children during the duration of the virus. However, Kids Health also advises that parents should avoid giving their children fruit juices and soda because they can make the diarrhea worse. If the symptoms are severe, a visit to the doctor is a good idea.