Rotavirus Infections

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Prevention and Risk Factors
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics

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Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

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For You

• Children
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Rotavirus is a virus that causes gastroenteritis. Symptoms include severe diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and dehydration. Almost all children in the U.S. are likely to be infected with rotavirus before their 5th birthday.

Infections happen most often in the winter and spring. It is very easy for children with the virus to spread it to other children and sometimes to adults. Once a child gets the virus, it takes about two days to become sick. Vomiting and diarrhea may last from three to eight days.

There is no medicine to treat it. To prevent dehydration, have your child drink plenty of liquids. Your health care provider may recommend oral rehydration drinks. Some children need to go to the hospital for IV fluids. Two vaccines against rotavirus infections are available.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Start Here

• About Rotavirus (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Frequently Asked Questions about Rotavirus (National Foundation for Infectious Diseases)
• Rotavirus (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Rotavirus Vaccination (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Stool Tests (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Rotavirus Vaccine: What You Need to Know (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• Gastroenteritis: First Aid (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• What is the Best Way to Treat Diarrhea? (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Rotavirus Vaccine Safety (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Stomach Flu: How Long Am I Contagious? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Viral Gastroenteritis (Stomach Flu) (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Rotavirus Infections (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Study of rotavirus genotypes G and P in one Egyptian center-cross-sectional...
• Article: Comparative analysis of the epidemiological characteristics of adenovirus, rotavirus A, and...
• Article: Emergence of non-classical genotype constellations of G9P[8] rotavirus strains in diarrheic...
• Rotavirus Infections -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Also in Spanish
• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Children

• Collecting a Stool Sample for Testing (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Rotavirus (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Rotavirus Vaccination: What Everyone Should Know (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Patient Handouts

• Rotavirus antigen test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Rotavirus Vaccine: What You Need to Know (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF Also in Spanish