Vaccination is the best way to prevent rotavirus infection in infants and young children

Rotavirus is a common cause of severe acute gastroenteritis in infants and young children, and is also one of the main causes of death in children under 5 years old. Rotavirus vaccination is the best public health measure to prevent rotavirus infection. On April 25, the 37th National Children's Vaccination Promotion Day, a National Children's Vaccination Promotion Day and Rotavirus Science Popularization Event was held in Beijing to protect and enjoy the growth of children. Many well-known experts discussed topics such as infant vaccination and the treatment and prevention of rotavirus-related diseases in infants and young children.

The theme of the 37th National Children's Vaccination Promotion Day is "Actively Vaccinate, Share a Healthy Life". In order to further implement the principle of prevention first and vigorously popularize health knowledge, People's Daily Online·People's Health and Health Times jointly hosted this event.

Feng Zijian, vice president and secretary general of the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association, said that vaccination, commonly known as "vaccination," is a very important thing in every child's growth process. According to the Healthy Children Action Enhancement Plan (2021-2025), it is necessary to strengthen the prevention and control of key childhood diseases, focus on common childhood diseases such as diarrhea and pneumonia, and promote appropriate technologies for the prevention and treatment of childhood diseases. Although the overall incidence of infectious diarrhea has been declining year by year in recent years, rotavirus gastroenteritis in infants and young children is still one of the serious public health problems in the world, and rotavirus is still the primary pathogen of severe dehydration diarrhea in children under 5 years old. Once the disease occurs, there is no specific medicine. It can be said that rotavirus vaccination is the most effective and economical means of preventing rotavirus gastroenteritis.

He pointed out that with the development of electronic information technology and the widespread use of communication equipment, people's access to health-related information has been continuously broadened. In particular, with the widespread use of social media, the channels for parents to obtain information related to vaccination have been continuously enriched, providing a new platform for vaccination publicity and education. Disease prevention is a long-term task that requires the joint efforts of individuals, families and society. We hope that more platforms can be used to pass on correct health science knowledge to parents, thereby better protecting children's health.

Wang Fuzhen, director of the Vaccine Preventable Virus Department of the Immunization Program Center of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that the immunization program is one of the most significant and widely influential achievements of the country's health work. Since 1978, China has begun to implement the child immunization program. After more than ten years of efforts, infectious diseases have been effectively controlled. With the advancement of the immunization program, more and more types of vaccines have been included in the immunization program. Currently, there are 15 infectious diseases that can be prevented by the immunization program. However, many parents still lack knowledge of vaccination, especially the awareness rate of non-immunization program vaccines is generally lower than that of immunization program vaccines. There is a lack of understanding of non-immunization program vaccines, and even some misunderstandings. It is hoped that through strong health education, the awareness rate of vaccination can be improved, vaccine hesitation can be reduced, health literacy can be improved, disease prevention awareness can be enhanced, and the role of vaccines in disease prevention and control can be fully played.

"Rotavirus gastroenteritis is prevalent throughout the year, showing obvious seasonality, with the peak incidence from November to February of the following year." Li Dandi, a researcher at the Institute of Viral Disease Prevention and Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that rotavirus infection causes great harm to children's growth and development and physical health. Existing studies have shown that rotavirus vaccination is the most effective measure to prevent and control severe rotavirus illness and death.

Xie Zhengde, director of the Infection and Virus Research Laboratory at Beijing Children's Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University and Beijing Institute of Pediatrics, pointed out that after babies are infected with rotavirus, the clinical manifestations vary in severity, with the main symptoms being diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and dehydration. Severe cases may cause shock or even death. The younger the age, the more serious the condition may be after rotavirus infection. The most serious symptom of rotavirus diarrhea occurs during the first infection. The younger the age of infection, the more serious the condition may be.

He pointed out that there is no specific medicine for rotavirus infection at present. The treatment of rotavirus infection, like many viral infections now, is mainly symptomatic treatment. For example, fluid replacement is used to prevent dehydration, and zinc supplementation is used to reduce the severity of diarrhea and shorten the course of the disease. He emphasized that the most important thing is to detect some serious conditions caused by virus infection as early as possible, deal with them in time, and try to avoid severe cases and deaths. "Of course, if conditions permit, vaccination is a very effective way of prevention."

Wang Lin, director of the health care department of the Children's Hospital affiliated to the Capital Institute of Pediatrics, said that while parents of children are acquiring scientific knowledge, they must also get in touch with doctors at nearby community health service centers or hospitals to communicate about their children's further vaccinations, so as to better protect their children's health.

"There are currently two types of rotavirus vaccines officially on the market in my country, one is the pentavalent rotavirus vaccine and the other is the monovalent rotavirus vaccine." Zheng Dongyi, deputy chief physician of the Health Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Tsinghua University, said that the types of viruses prevented by the two vaccines and the vaccination procedures are different, but the general principle is to vaccinate early and protect early. Parents can choose according to their children's situation and their own needs, especially the age of their children. Among them, the pentavalent rotavirus vaccine starts to be vaccinated when the child is 6 weeks old, that is, 42 days old. The vaccination procedure for the first shot is relatively strict. It must be vaccinated between 6 weeks and 12 weeks of age. If the child is over 12 weeks old, the opportunity to vaccinate the pentavalent rotavirus vaccine will be lost. The pentavalent rotavirus vaccine needs to be vaccinated three times in total, and the third dose must be completed before 32 weeks of age. The monovalent rotavirus vaccine is vaccinated once a year, that is, it starts when the child is two months old, and it is no longer vaccinated after the age of three. It is worth mentioning that the rotavirus vaccine can be vaccinated at the same time as other vaccines in the children's immunization program to reduce the risk of infection when the baby repeatedly goes to the vaccination site.