Home Request Your Free Newsletter Keep Your Kids Fall-Safe Mental Health Matters, Too Putting His Heart Into Life Help Your Children Avoid Skin Cancer Decades Down the Line Summer: Time to Focus on Injury Prevention Sound Advice for iPod Users Guard Your Child From Rotavirus “Wait-and-See” Approach OK for Ear Infections

Guard Your Child From Rotavirus This diarrhea-causing bug spreads quickly in young kids A new vaccine can protect your baby from the most common cause of severe diarrhea. Rotavirus accounts for up to 272,000 emergency room trips and 70,000 hospital stays a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Passed through hand-to-mouth contact, rotavirus is highly contagious in preschoolers. “Almost every child has had rotavirus at least once by the time they reach 5 years old,” says Lora Bergert, M.D., Kapi‘olani pediatric hospitalist physician. The highly contagious virus can live a long time outside the body. It lurks in the stool of an infected child before, during and after symptoms show up. If that child skips hand-washing after using the bathroom, another child can pick up the virus by touching the same objects and putting his hand to his mouth. “It starts off with fever, then the child starts vomiting, which will last one to two days,” says Dr. Bergert. “From there, they go on to develop the diarrhea. The diarrhea can be 10 to 20 times a day and can lead to dehydration and possibly hospitalization.” The virus can infect children more than once, but the first case tends to be the worst. After each bout, the next case is less severe. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the vaccine, RotaTeq, last year. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend it for babies up to 6 months old. It’s given by mouth in liquid form. Infants get three doses, at 2 months, 3 months and 6 months. The vaccine is not meant for older kids. Doctors tested RotaTeq on more than 70,000 children, the CDC says. Half got the real vaccine, and half got a sham dose. When doctors compared the two groups, kids who got the real vaccine had: 74 percent fewer cases of rotavirus diarrhea 98 percent fewer severe cases of diarrhea 96 percent fewer hospital stays In 1998, the FDA approved a different rotavirus vaccine. That vaccine was dropped after being linked to a rare, life-threatening blockage or twisting of the bowels called intussusception. Studies of RotaTeq before its release found no such problem. However, the FDA says that since doctors began to use RotaTeq (3.5 million doses have been shipped), it has received 28 reports of intussusception. That could be a coincidence, the FDA says, since the problem can occur on its own. However, the FDA has asked doctors and parents to watch for the problem. Lora Bergert, M.D. Without the vaccine, it’s tough to avoid rotavirus because it’s passed so easily. But remember, this vaccine only shields kids from rotavirus. You can help protect them from other viruses by making sure they — and you — wash hands after using the bathroom and before eating. Wash your hands after changing diapers, too. Handwashing is often the best prevention for any virus. Make sure you clean tainted surfaces quickly with household, chlorine bleachbased products. And wash soiled clothing quickly, too.