Rotavirus, the most common cause of diarrhea in children
Rotavirus, a virus that targets children
In recent days, news about the spread of rotavirus in Iran has been widely published. This virus mostly affects children and targets them more than any other class. Of course, you don’t need to worry, because this virus has a vaccine (no definitive treatment) and its effects can be controlled. Stay with us until the end to see the symptoms and how to diagnosis it.
But before that, what you need to know about rotavirus is that it is a highly contagious virus and is the most common cause of diarrhea in infants and young children worldwide. In addition to affecting the digestive system, this virus may cause children to become dehydrated due to diarrhea. Children may contract the virus more than once, but in most cases, subsequent cases are less severe.
How dangerous is rotavirus?
Rotavirus is composed of two words Rota + virus. In Latin, the word wheel is written as Rota. In fact, if you look at this virus through a microscope, you will notice that it is round in shape. The diameter of the virus is about 60 to 80 nm and it has 132 capsomers and it has no coating. Rotaviruses have a three-layered capsid. Rotaviruses are divided into seven serogroups A to G based on the genetic and antigenic properties of their VP6 structural protein.
Group A rotaviruses are the most common type among children and young adults worldwide, and group B rotaviruses cause diarrhea in adults. Rotavirus can also be dangerous. In 2016, this virus was the leading cause of diarrhea-related deaths among children worldwide. Although the Rotavirus vaccine has led to a 40% reduction in hospital admissions of children for this disease, the prevalence of this disease is still of concern.
Currently, rotavirus causes the death of more than 200,000 children in the world every year. The main activity of this virus is in Africa, Oceania and South Asia.
With these explanations, you should know its symptoms well in order to protect your children well.
How does rotavirus enter the child’s body?
The fecal-oral route is one of the ways of Rotavirus disease transmission in which pathogenic agents are transferred from feces to the mouth. In fact, the main cause of disease transmission in this way is non-observance of health tips. Children usually do not wash their hands properly or well. Of course, using contaminated water or food can also be one of the reasons for contracting this virus.
Among the other reasons, we can first mention the environment. This means that this virus has the ability to survive for a long time on surfaces such as doorknobs, toys, and other items. This is the reason that causes the spread of disease in kindergartens or schools.
To prevent the spread of this virus, after laboratory diagnosis, it is necessary to isolate the infected person from other people and take care. Of course, you should note that although this infection is seen in children under 5 years of age, adults can also suffer from it, although its severity in adults is less than in children.
This infection can be controlled at home by drinking liquids; But due to the amount and severity of rotavirus, children may need special care and intravenous fluids in the hospital. A point that points to the importance of timely diagnosis in order to prevent the progress of infection at the right time.
Also, make sure to wash your hands with soap and water after changing your child’s diaper so that this disease is not transmitted to you.
Signs and symptoms of rotavirus
As mentioned earlier, the most important way to prevent rotavirus is to wash your hands regularly. But if your child has the following symptoms, be sure to do a laboratory diagnosis.
The infection caused by this virus usually starts two days after exposure to pathogens. The initial symptoms are usually fever and vomiting, followed by three to seven days of abdominal pain and watery diarrhea. These initial symptoms are also mild for adults.
Of course, there are other signs that, if observed, the child should be tested for rotavirus infection. If your child has frequent diarrhea or vomiting for more than 24 hours, if his body temperature is 38.9 degrees Celsius or higher, or if he has black stools, or if his stools contain blood or pus; Most likely, he has been infected with this virus.
Along with these symptoms, add lethargy, constant fatigue. On the other hand, as mentioned, your child may suffer from dehydration due to excessive diarrhea; Therefore, things like dry mouth, crying without tears, little or no urination and even unusual sleepiness are all signs of rotavirus infection.
Except for the initial symptoms, rotavirus infection manifests itself in another way in adults. If you are always thirsty, you have diarrhea for more than two days, your body temperature is more than 39.4 degrees Celsius, you see blood in your vomit, you have severe weakness, dizziness and dry mouth; The sign is that you should do a laboratory diagnosis for the infection of this virus.
The World Health Organization recommends that infants receive the rotavirus vaccine from the beginning. There are two types of vaccines that babies should receive in several cycles.
RotaTeq vaccine is administered orally in three doses at 2, 4 and 6 months. Of course, this vaccine is only for children and its use for adults is not approved by the World Health Organization. Another rotavirus vaccine is Rotarix. This vaccine is liquid and is injected in two doses at 2 and 4 months.
Laboratory diagnosis of rotavirus
To detect rotavirus, a test is used on a stool sample. Of course, other tests such as blood tests may be done to detect this virus. This test has no risks and you don’t need to do anything before coming to the lab. It is only necessary to consult the doctor about the medicines or vitamins that your child is taking. Laboratory diagnosis of rotavirus should be done by conducting specialized PCR tests and identifying virus RNA in the stool sample of a suspected person with rotavirus, or by using a specific rotavirus antibody detection test on a blood serum sample or viral antigen in a stool sample.
The best time to do the test and prevent the progression of the disease is 1 to 4 days after seeing the symptoms. If symptoms persist for up to 8 days, you should definitely go to a reputable laboratory for laboratory diagnosis and treatment.
The Payvand Clinical and Specialty laboratory; Accurate and fast diagnosis
As we said, timely diagnosis of rotavirus will help you get rid of the infection sooner and suffer less damage. In addition to timely diagnosis, this test is also very dependent on testing equipment. All test results are checked by a laboratory technician, so it is important to refer to accredited laboratories.
The Payvand laboratory will shorten your treatment path with timely diagnosis and using completely up-to-date equipment. Take care of your children and if you see symptoms, contact us and get a free consultation.
References:
- https://www.123rf.com/photo_60983090_stock-vector-rotavirus.html
- https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/70122/WHO_IVB_08.17_eng.pdf;jsessionid=44D9FD1541EE3A8D223B48FC08EE49FA?sequence=1
- https://www.cdc.gov/rotavirus/clinical.html
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/177104.php#prevention
- Pérez-Ortín R, Vila-Vicent S, Carmona-Vicente N, Santiso-Bellón C, Rodríguez-Díaz J, Buesa J. Histo-Blood Group Antigens in Children with Symptomatic Rotavirus Infection. Viruses. 2019;11(4):339. Published 2019 Apr 10. doi:10.3390/v11040339