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(Pediatrics in Review. 2007;28:183-191.)
© 2007 American Academy of Pediatrics

Rotavirus

Ellen S. Bass, MD, MPH^*
Dante A. Pappano, MD, MPH^*
Sharon G. Humiston, MD, MPH

^* Department of Emergency Medicine, Eastern Tennessee Children's Hospital, Knoxville, Tenn
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY

The first 300 words of the full text of this article appear below.

	Objectives

 
After completing this article, readers should be able to:

1. Recognize the signs and symptoms of rotavirus infection.
   
2. Describe how rotavirus is transmitted and how infection can be prevented.
   
3. Explain how to manage dehydration.
   
4. Describe other potential complications of rotavirus infection.
   
5. Discuss the risks and benefits of treating vomiting and diarrhea symptomatically.
   

	Introduction

 
In 1959, Brenner and Horne described a novel technique for electron microscopy, ushering in a new era in experimental and diagnostic virology. (1) Among the panoply of newly discovered agents, rotavirus was first described as the agent of infantile murine diarrhea in 1963. Its importance as a pathogen in human gastrointestinal (GI) disease was not appreciated until 10 years later when Bishop and associates (2) identified it by electron microscopy in the inflamed mucosa of six children who had gastroenteritis and were cared for at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. In 1974, Flewett and colleagues (3) advanced the name "rotavirus" based on its "wheel-like" appearance (Figure). Since then, more readily available diagnostic techniques have resulted in a substantial growth of knowledge about the virus, which now is known to be the single most common cause of childhood diarrhea.

View larger version (122K):   Figure Human rotavirus seen through electron microscopy.

	Disease Burden

 
Rotavirus is ubiquitous, but strikes particularly hard at children in developing nations. Worldwide, rotavirus accounts for 25% of all deaths due to diarrheal disease. In children, the incidence is about 600,000 to 900,000 deaths annually or 6% of all deaths of children younger than 5 years of age. (4) In the United States, mortality attributable to rotavirus is rare, accounting for fewer than 40 pediatric deaths annually. (4) However, even in the United States, rotavirus causes serious morbidity and is responsible for an estimated 500,000 outpatient visits and 50,000 hospitalizations. (4. . . [Full Text of this Article]

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. M. Jacobson, M. Santosham, and A. M. Milstone Pediatric Providers' Acceptance of Recommendations for Routine Rotavirus Vaccination Clinical Pediatrics, June 1, 2008; 47(5): 500 - 503. [PDF]