Do I need to stop breastfeeding if I have rotavirus?

Rotavirus is a contagious virus that is more common among children. For babies who are currently breastfeeding, if rotavirus is detected, breastfeeding should be stopped and the child should be taken to the hospital for treatment. Wait until the infection is over and the child has fully recovered before breastfeeding the child. Below, I will introduce you to the relevant knowledge about rotavirus in detail!

1. What is rotavirus

Rotavirus, as the name suggests, has a wheel-like structure. More than 80% of people in third world countries are infected with this virus. Human rotavirus belongs to the Reoviridae family and is a double-stranded RNA virus. Its genome consists of 11 double-stranded RNA fragments with a molecular weight between 0.2-2.2MD. According to the structural protein and electrophoresis pattern, human rotavirus can be divided into three groups: A, B, and C. Group B is only seen in outbreak groups of adults; Group A only causes enteritis in infants and young children and does not infect adults and most children over five years old; Group C virus is relatively rare. Epidemiological surveys have shown that group A rotavirus is the main pathogen causing viral enteritis in infants and young children.

Rotavirus is mainly transmitted through the fecal-oral route and can also be transmitted in the form of aerosols, so skin contact and respiratory transmission are its main modes of transmission. Since rotavirus is stable to pH, the transmitted rotavirus will not be destroyed when passing through the stomach. Instead, it will be digested by pepsin, increasing its infectivity. Rotavirus mainly infects the upper small intestine, invades the epithelial cells with brush borders at the distal end of the villi, multiplies intracellularly, causes cytopathic effects, leads to decreased enzyme activity, villus dysfunction, and diarrhea.

2. Characteristics of children with rotavirus infection

When infants and young children are infected with rotavirus, they begin to develop the disease after an incubation period of 1 to 3 days. The main early symptoms are vomiting and body temperature between 38℃ and 39℃, followed by diarrhea, about 10 bowel movements a day, and some children may have up to 20 bowel movements a day. There may be stool in the early stage. After several diarrhea episodes, the stool becomes watery or thin rice soup-like, without pus or blood and in large quantities. Due to the large amount of water loss, the children quickly become dehydrated and show symptoms such as listlessness, apathetic expression, drowsiness, pale complexion, sunken anterior fontanelle and eye sockets, loose skin that cannot be flattened immediately after pinching, little urine, dry oral mucosa, etc. If the dehydration is not corrected in time, it can often lead to death. It is not difficult for a doctor or experienced parent to make a correct diagnosis based on the characteristics of the season, watery stool, and absence of pus and blood. The key is whether the stool can get correct and timely treatment.

Treatment of rotavirus

At present, there is no specific drug to kill rotavirus, and the various antibacterial drugs currently used are ineffective against the virus. The correct treatment is to correct the child's dehydration and acidosis as soon as possible. For children with mild symptoms, oral rehydration can be used to correct the symptoms. The commonly used one is the oral rehydration salt recommended by the World Health Organization. The formula is: 3.5 grams of sodium chloride, 2.5 grams of sodium bicarbonate, 1.5 grams of potassium hydride, 20 grams of glucose plus 1000 ml of water. Children can drink it as water. Children with more severe symptoms can be treated with intravenous infusion to correct dehydration and acidosis, while taking dipyridamole orally. It is reported that pansantin has a significant inhibitory effect on rotavirus. In recent years, interferon (IFN) has also been used to treat rotavirus infection. This drug can inhibit the reproduction of the virus in the human body, thereby alleviating symptoms and shortening the course of the disease.