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Rotavirus in children takes its toll on parents and the healthcare system
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Rotavirus is a disease that peaks in April and May and affects 95 percent of Canadian children before the age of five. It is the most common cause of severe gastroenteritis, an inflammation of the stomach and intestines, in infants and children between four and 36 months of age.
A rotavirus infection usually starts with a fever, abdominal pain and vomiting and is followed by diarrhea. Symptoms can be mild to severe and last for three to nine days, with up to 20 episodes of diarrhea a day. (Severe diarrhea and vomiting can lead to dehydration, which can be life-threatening if untreated).
A study called MIRAGE, which stands for Measuring the Impact of Rotavirus Acute Gastroenteritis Episodes, examined the disease’s impact on young children and their families as well as on related healthcare resources in Canada. The study involved physicians in 60 clinics across Canada who recruited 421 children under the age of three showing symptoms of vomiting, diarrhea or both.
Of the 54 percent of patients in the study who tested positive for rotavirus, one in eight was hospitalized and one in four visited the hospital ER. Equally prevalent in the developed and developing world, rotavirus is highly contagious and does not discriminate; social class, hygienic measures and good nutrition don’t appear to affect
the prevention of the virus.
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