UNDERSTANDING ROTA VIRUS
DIARRHEA IN INFANTS
Diarrhea is a leading cause of death in children .It results in large losses of water and
electrolytes.
In infants (age less than one year)
diarrhea.
Rotavirus is the single most important cause of
spreads
The virus
by the fecal oral route i.e. when stools containing the Rota virus
contaminate their food or drink.
The virus destroys the tips of the cells
of the small intestine. These cells
lactose
have digestive (i.e. break down carbohydrates like
which is a sugar in milk)
and absorptive functions (i.e. absorption of water and salts).Thus when these cells are
destroyed there is a decreased absorption of salt and water and malabsorption of lactose
and this leads to diarrhea.
The infant develops fever, vomiting and watery stools and becomes dehydrated.
Some
symptoms of dehydration are increased thirst, decreased urine output,
decreased tears, dry lips and tongue, irritability and lethargy.
The child
has sunken eyes, rapid breathing, changes in the elasticity of the skin and in severe cases
becomes cold, limp, loses weight and has depressed consciousness.
Avoiding and treating dehydration are the main goals in the
treatment of diarrhea.
Oral rehydration solutions
ORS are used to
treat dehydration in the outpatient clinics.
ORS is given in small amounts at short intervals i.e.
1 tsp every 1-2
minutes so that vomiting does not occur and the child gets rehydrated as evidenced by an
increase in the urine output and improvement of all other symptoms.
If there is uncontrollable vomiting or severe dehydration the child is admitted to the
hospital and
intravenous fluids
are given.
Breastfeeding is continued and normal diet for age is resumed once the child is
rehydrated.
Rota viral diarrhea which causes so much of distress and hardship to the baby and the
mother can be prevented to a large extent by
prevention of fecal contamination
of food and water by good hygiene,
good hand washing, exclusive
breast feeding up to 6 months of age and continuing breast feeding along with other
natural complementary foods up to 2 years of age and by
vaccination.
For further information on vaccination
www.iapindia.org,immunisation
please refer to
ROTA VIRUS VACCINE
Currently, two live oral vaccines are licensed and marketed
worldwide, Rotarix and RotaTeq
As per the IAPCOI’s Recommendation
ROTARIX :
 The first dose can already be administered at the age of 6 weeks and
should be given no later than at the age of 12 weeks.
 The interval between the 2 doses should be at least 4 weeks.
 The 2-dose schedule should be completed by age 16 weeks, and no
later than by 24 weeks of age.
ROTATEQ:
 The recommended schedule is 3 oral doses at ages 2, 4 and 6 months.
 The first dose should be administered between ages 6-12 weeks and
subsequent doses at intervals of 4-8 weeks.
 Vaccination should not be initiated for infants aged >12 weeks.
 All 3 doses should be administered before the age of 32 weeks.
Vaccination should be strictly as per the schedule discussed below, as
there is a potentially higher risk of intussusception if vaccines are given
to older infants
Breast feeding can be given before or after the vaccination.
The vaccine including can be given along with IPV,
Pneumococcal, Hib, DTaP and Hep B and other childhood
vaccines.
For further information on Vaccines please see
I and V components in www.rakshithhospital.com
www.iapindia.org _ Immunisation – Recommendations 2008
American Academy of Pediatrics - Immunization Information
CDC - Childhood and Adolescent Immunization Schedule
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