Rotavirus Home
Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhea among children, resulting in the hospitalization of approximately 55,000 children each year in the United States and the death of over 600,000 children annually worldwide. The incubation period for rotavirus disease is approximately 2 days. The disease is characterized by vomiting and watery diarrhea for 3 - 8 days, and fever and abdominal pain occur frequently. Immunity after infection is incomplete, but repeat infections tend to be less severe than the original infection.
Protect Your Child against Rotavirus NEWRotavirus is a virus that causes severe diarrhea, mostly in babies and young children. The good news is that there are vaccines to prevent rotavirus more... |
Unusual Rotavirus Season May Be due to Newly Introduced Vaccine
CDC has issued an interim report describing marked changes in rotavirus activity in the ongoing 2007–08 U.S. rotavirus season. The report indicates that rotavirus activity started considerably later and was much less extensive compared with activity in previous years. These changes coincide with increasing use of rotavirus vaccine among infants.
- For more information about the findings, read Interim Report: Delayed Onset and Diminished Rotavirus Activity — United States, November 2007–May 2008, MMWR 25 June 2008/57 (Early Release);1–4.
- For answers to questions you may have about the interim report, read the related Questions and Answers.
- To learn more about rotavirus, visit CDC’s Rotavirus Vaccination web page.
Specific Topics
- About Rotavirus
Clinical features, virus, epidemiologic features, diagnosis, treatment, prevention - Global Rotavirus Surveillance
Newsletters, generic protocols, selected publications, reference laboratories, global rotavirus reporting system - National Rotavirus Surveillance
National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS) and New Vaccine Surveillance Network (NVSN) - Rotavirus Vaccination
Information and resources about the disease for parents, healthcare professionals, and the media. Also, extensive vaccination information. - Rotavirus Vaccine & Intussusception
Historical information as RotaShield® was taken off U.S. market in 1999
Content last reviewed on March 28, 2007
Content Source: National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases