What is the rotavirus vaccine?


Also known as the diarrhea vaccine, the rotavirus vaccine protects young babies from infections of the bowel, which causes fever, abdominal pain, vomiting apart from the severe watery diarrhea. The age-group most vulnerable to the infection is 6 months-2 years, although many children are exposed to this contagious microbe at least once by the time they are five years old. It occurs during winter mostly but can happen anytime of the year. Many children below three suffer from this infection at least 2-3 times in the early years of life but the symptoms being what they are leave parents unaware that their child is having rotavirus. The virus is present in the stool of infected babies and easily spreads to people through contaminated hands and surfaces. It differs from the run of the mill diarrhea in that it is not mild in nature because of the loss of fluids due to persistent diarrhea and vomiting.

The important thing is to ensure dehydration doesn't happen and proper hygiene is maintained. It is tedious to replace lost fluids in the very young thereby leading to dehydration easily within one day of the beginning of the symptoms. The vaccine has shown to be effective in preventing moderate to severe attacks but they are not equipped to protect against diarrhea caused by other viruses and bacteria; it is only designed to protect against a number of rotavirus species(A,B,C,D&E), of which rotavirus A is the most common. But the vaccine removes the severe vomiting and high fevers and the hospitalizations that ensues from the attack. Partial immunity is obtained because repeat infections get less severe and most cases are mild enough to be treated at home. Rotavirus is most serious in poorer countries where malnourishment is obvious and healthcare is understated.

Dose: Available vaccines are RotaTeq and the more recent, RotaRix. Dosage will depend on the vaccine used. 3-dose live virus oral vaccine is given at 2, 4, 6 months.