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Vaccine Types

Rotavirus

What is it?

Rotavirus is the most common cause of diarrhea and vomiting in infants and young children. It is spread by eating contaminated food, touching contaminated surfaces or drinking contaminated water. Something as simple as not washing your hands well enough can spread rotavirus.

Why is it important?

By age 3 nearly every child in the world is exposed to rotavirus. Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhea in children. Nearly every child is at risk of infection, regardless of where he/she lives, his/her hygiene practices, or access to safe drinking water or sanitation.  Rotavirus symptoms may last 3-8 days and can cause dehydration, which is especially dangerous for infants and young children. There is no drug to treat rotavirus infection.

Prior to the introduction of rotavirus vaccines in the U.S. in 2006, rotavirus resulted in the hospitalization of approximately 55,000 U.S. children each year. In developing countries, rotavirus leads to an estimated 450,000 deaths each year in children under five. Diarrhea diseases, like rotavirus, are the cause of death for about 1 in 5 children worldwide.

Progress

Studies show that countries that routinely immunize babies against rotavirus have drastically reduced the number of children hospitalized with the disease. In the United States, rotavirus hospitalizations have dropped 56 to 86 percent over three years since the vaccine was introduced in 2006. Mexico, Australia and El Salvador showed similar decline in hospitalizations following the vaccine's introduction.

In addition, the 2011 report displayed reduced rotavirus infection in older, unvaccinated children. This suggests that immunizing babies also helps to build community immunity and lower the overall spread of rotavirus.

Vaccine Recommendations

Rotavirus vaccine is an oral (swallowed) vaccine, not an injection. The vaccine requires 2-3 doses that are given by mouth at two months and four months of age. Another dose at 6 months of age may be needed depending on the brand of vaccine used. Rotavirus vaccine will not prevent diarrhea or vomiting caused by other germs, but it is effective at preventing diarrhea and vomiting caused by rotavirus.

Side Effects

Most babies who receive the rotavirus vaccine do not experience any serious side effects. Babies may be slightly more likely to be irritable, or to have mild, temporary diarrhea or vomiting after getting a dose of rotavirus vaccine than babies who did not get the vaccine.

Some earlier studies have shown a small increase in cases of intussusception within a week after the first dose of rotavirus vaccine (about 1 child in 100,000). Intussusception is a condition of the intestine in which one portion of the bowel slides into the next, much like the pieces of a telescope. However, a 2012 study of rotavirus vaccine and intussusception looked at nearly 800,000 vaccination outcomes, finding no significant increase in intussusceptions within one week or one month after vaccination.

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