Causes and hazards of rotavirus infection

In autumn, many mothers find that their babies are particularly prone to illness, and in severe cases they may suffer from persistent diarrhea. At this time, mothers need to be extra careful and carefully check whether their babies are infected with rotavirus. Autumn is the peak season for rotavirus. Parents should always pay attention to the various causes of rotavirus infection to prevent their babies from getting rotavirus disease.

1. What is rotavirus

Rotavirus is one of the main pathogens that cause diarrhea in infants and young children. It mainly infects small intestinal epithelial cells, causing cell damage and causing diarrhea. Rotavirus is prevalent in summer, autumn and winter every year. The route of infection is fecal-oral. The clinical manifestations are acute gastroenteritis and osmotic diarrhea. The course of the disease is generally 7 days, with fever lasting for 3 days, vomiting for 2 to 3 days, diarrhea for 5 days, and severe dehydration symptoms.

2. Prevalence of rotavirus

Worldwide, rotavirus infection kills approximately 900,000 infants and young children each year, most of whom occur in developing countries. In my country, there are about 40 million infants and young children aged 0 to 2 years old (including newborns). Every year, about 10 million infants and young children suffer from rotavirus gastroenteritis, accounting for 1/4 of the number of infants and young children. It is the main pathogen causing severe diarrhea in infants and young children.

3. The harm of rotavirus

Rotavirus infection ranges from asymptomatic, mild to severe, with fatal gastroenteritis, dehydration and electrolyte imbalance occurring in severe cases. In addition to gastrointestinal symptoms, recent studies have found that rotavirus can cause many other diseases. In some cases, liver function damage may occur to varying degrees. Rotavirus can even pass through the gastrointestinal barrier and cause viremia.

4. How rotavirus is transmitted

It is mainly transmitted through fecal-oral or oral-oral routes, and can also be transmitted through water sources or the respiratory tract. Rotavirus diarrhea in adults often presents as water-based outbreaks. Because rotavirus is relatively stable in the environment and is not easy to die naturally, it can also be transmitted through daily contact. Neonatal rotavirus infection mainly comes from maternal infection, birth canal infection and hospital infection. Rotavirus infection can be spread in hospitals by nursing staff.