In the autumn and winter seasons, parents should be alert to rotavirus infection in infants and young children. How should they protect their children?

In autumn and winter, infants and young children often suffer from autumn diarrhea, and rotavirus is the most important pathogen causing severe diarrhea in children. However, many parents still have a misunderstanding about rotavirus diarrhea, thinking it is just ordinary diarrhea, which often delays the treatment. Recently, Liu Cuiying, deputy director of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Beijing Children's Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, said this in an interview on the popularization of infant immunity knowledge in autumn and winter - rotavirus disease education.

According to the World Health Organization, in 2013, about 220,000 children under the age of five died from rotavirus infection. There is currently no effective drug for treatment, and vaccination is the most effective, simplest and most economical means of controlling infectious diseases, said Zhang Lingli, deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association and president of Health Times.

Why is rotavirus so unfriendly to infants and young children? What should parents pay attention to when caring for their children? How to prevent the virus from infecting children? Let's see what experts say.

Rotavirus is most prevalent in autumn and winter, and children under 5 years old are most likely to be infected

Rotavirus is the most important pathogen of severe diarrhea in children. It is highly contagious and almost all children under the age of 5 have been infected by rotavirus. Whether in developed or developing countries, the detection rate of rotavirus is similar. Complete system facilities and good sanitary conditions cannot prevent the spread of rotavirus. Li Dandi, a researcher at the Institute of Viral Disease Prevention and Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, introduced.

She introduced that rotavirus can cause 114 million cases of illness, 24 million visits to doctors, 2.3 million hospitalizations, and 215,000 deaths worldwide each year. In my country, rotavirus can cause 2,700 to 4,000 deaths, 590,000 hospitalizations, 9.7 million outpatient visits, and 1,200 cases of illness each year.

The peak age for rotavirus infection is between 6 and 24 months old. The infection rate is relatively low before 6 months old because the maternal antibodies in breast milk protect infants and young children. However, after 6 months old, maternal antibodies gradually decrease and disappear. If the rotavirus vaccine is fully administered within 6 months of age, it can well protect the health of children, said Li Dandi.

The peak period for rotavirus infection is from October to March of the following year.

Liu Cuiying said that there will be a peak in outpatient visits in autumn and winter, but sporadic cases of this disease will occur throughout the year, so parents must pay attention to it.

Rotavirus infection is difficult to control. Be careful if you have these symptoms.

Li Dandi said that rotavirus takes a long time to detoxify, and it needs to be continuously detoxified for 4-8 days after the onset of the disease, and a few patients can reach 18-42 days; the amount of detoxification is large, and each milliliter of patient feces contains more than 1 billion virus particles, while the dose to infect the patient is very small, 10-100 virus particles are enough to infect; and the virus is very stable in the external environment and can survive for several months. Rotavirus is also acid-resistant and not easily destroyed by stomach acid, so it is extremely difficult to control its spread.

The main clinical manifestations of rotavirus are diarrhea and vomiting. In severe cases, fever and dehydration may occur. If dehydration is not corrected in time, it can easily lead to shock or even death, Li Dandi said.

The symptoms of rotavirus infection are most severe when first contracted, and the mortality rate among malnourished children who contract rotavirus diarrhea is four times that of normal children.

Rotavirus not only causes gastrointestinal symptoms, but can also cause organ damage. Clinically, rotavirus can cause respiratory symptoms, elevated myocardial enzymes, and elevated transaminases, which are all signs of rotavirus invading the lungs, heart, liver, and kidneys. In the ICU, we can also see patients with convulsions caused by rotavirus, Li Dandi said.

Liu Cuiying also said that when a child's diarrhea shows characteristic changes in appearance, the diarrhea is watery and presents like egg drop soup or rice soup, the child has 10 or even more than 20 bowel movements, and the diarrhea is more severe than vomiting, parents should be alert.

Xu Feng, director of the Critical Care Center of the Children's Hospital Affiliated to Chongqing Medical University, said that clinically, infants with rotavirus enteritis will have frequent diarrhea, which will lead to a sharp decrease in effective circulating blood volume. Clinically, low blood volume is considered shock, which is the most dangerous symptom. Once a child is in shock, if the family does not send the child to the hospital in time, the best time for rescue may be missed and death may occur. In particular, infants with underlying diseases or congenital immunodeficiency must take oral saline solution and go to the hospital for treatment in a timely manner once they have frequent diarrhea.

The best way to prevent rotavirus is to get vaccinated

Li Dandi said that children with rotavirus diarrhea and asymptomatic carriers are both sources of rotavirus infection. The virus is mainly transmitted through the fecal-oral route, and a few are transmitted through the respiratory tract.

"Because rotavirus is transmitted through the mouth, hand hygiene is very important," said Zeng Mei, director of the infectious department of the Children's Hospital affiliated to Fudan University. Paying attention to hygiene and washing hands frequently are important means for every parent to protect their children from diarrhea.

Liu Cuiying also said that children get sick because of playing with toys, chewing toys and sucking their fingers, so it is very important to provide them with a safe, effective and hygienic environment.

Regarding the question of whether there is an effective treatment for rotavirus infection, Li Dandi regretfully said that there is no effective treatment yet. At present, the main treatment is symptomatic treatment, oral saline solution, intestinal mucosal protective agents, zinc supplementation, and more serious cases should be treated with fluids, such as dehydration and electrolyte imbalance.

"Vaccination is the only effective way to prevent severe rotavirus diarrhea," experts said.

"Infants and young children should be vaccinated with rotavirus vaccine as early as possible after 6 weeks of age to ensure that they are immune protected before naturally infected with rotavirus," Li Dandi emphasized.

Zeng Mei also pointed out that the first goal of the rotavirus vaccine is to prevent severe rotavirus. If you are infected with rotavirus once, you may be infected a second time or multiple times, but the first time is the most serious. The current vaccines can meet the needs of severe rotavirus diarrhea in children around the world and rotavirus diarrhea in most people. Unlike general vaccines, rotavirus vaccines need to be administered three times, but they can last for 7 years after vaccination and will become a continuous umbrella of protection for children.