Rotavirus
What are the signs and symptoms of rotavirus gastroenteritis?
Some children will be asymptomatic or have very few symptoms, while others may have severe cases of rotavirus infection.2,4,5
Typically, rotavirus gastroenteritis causes vomiting, fever, abdominal pain and profuse, watery diarrhea.2,4,5
Severe cases may have more than 20 episodes of vomiting or diarrhea a day,5 with episodes of diarrhea lasting for 3 to 9 days.6
Vomiting, which characterizes rotavirus, occurs more often and continues for a longer duration than with other gastroenteritis, making oral rehydration difficult. These stomach flu symptoms, if severe, can quickly lead to a dangerous loss of body fluids, putting an infant at serious risk of severe, life-threatening dehydration, in some cases.1,2,5
Signs and symptoms of severe dehydration may include:7
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Of children who required a physician visit because of their rotavirus infection in Ontario, about 1 in 4 also required further hospital care.3
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The greatest proportion of hospitalizations occurs among infants and young children between 6 months and 35 months of age. 3 |
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