Anyone caring for small children should know the symptoms of rotavirus, including: Frequent, watery diarrhea (often foul-smelling, green or brown)
Gastroenteritis caused by the Rotavirus
Symptoms include severe vomiting and severe watery diarrhea. Stools will often have a milky muddy water color which can be lemon yellow to milky white with a strong smell. The infection may be accompanied with a high-grade fever.
The most common symptoms of rotavirus are severe watery diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and/or abdominal pain. Symptoms usually start about two days after a person is exposed to rotavirus. Vomiting and watery diarrhea can last three to eight days.
How is rotavirus diagnosed? Rotavirus can be detected in stool specimens from children with gastroenteritis by several techniques, including electron microscopy, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, antigen detection assays, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and virus isolation.
There's no specific treatment for a rotavirus infection. Antibiotics and antivirals won't help a rotavirus infection. Usually, the infection resolves within three to seven days.
A rotavirus infection usually starts within two days of exposure to the virus. Early symptoms are a fever and vomiting, followed by three to seven days of watery diarrhea. The infection can cause abdominal pain as well. In healthy adults, a rotavirus infection may cause only mild signs and symptoms or none at all.
Most children with rotavirus have very watery diarrhea. This can seem like a large amount for a baby or small child. The most severe diarrhea lasts 4 to 8 days. But episodes of diarrhea can last long after your child starts feeling better.
What should parents know about the difference between the flu, norovirus and rotavirus? Norovirus is the virus that causes the “stomach bug.” It causes vomiting and diarrhea and can affect anyone. Rotavirus most often affects infants and young children. It can cause fever, watery diarrhea and vomiting.
Infected persons shed large quantities of virus in their stool beginning 2 days before the onset of diarrhea and for several days after the onset of symptoms. Rotavirus may be detected in the stool of immunocompromised persons for more than 30 days after infection.
What are the side effects? Side effects are rare, usually mild, and may include fussiness, diarrhea, and vomiting. Some studies have shown a small rise in cases of intussusception within a week after the first or second dose of rotavirus vaccine.
Symptoms usually begin 1 or 2 days after ingesting the virus, but may appear as early as 12 hours after exposure. The illness typically comes on suddenly. The infected person may feel very sick and vomit often, sometimes without warning, many times a day.
They can range from mild to severe. The most common symptoms of rotavirus include: Nausea and vomiting. Watery diarrhea that occurs often and may last from 3 to 8 days.
Yellow/Pale Brown/Grey: Bright yellow diarrhea can signify a condition known as Giardiasis (see sidebar). Stool that is yellow or pale can also result from reduced production of bile salts, since a normal, brown-coloured stool acquires its hue from breaking down bile.
Yellow diarrhea can mean several things. It could be caused by a problem with one of your digestive organs, including your liver, gallbladder, or pancreas. It could also be caused by a germ, like a bacteria or virus, or a parasite.
Oral rehydration therapy is the most effective treatment for rotavirus. There is no specific antiviral treatment available and antibiotics are not effective. Take or give plenty of fluids. Oral rehydration solution is highly recommended for children with mild to moderate dehydration and is available at pharmacies.
Norovirus and rotavirus share many similarities. They cause many of the same symptoms, affect people of any age, and have a similar duration of symptoms. Often, the only means of diagnosis is through a stool sample test.
There's no medicine for rotavirus. The infection usually passes on its own. However, some children may need to go to the hospital for IV fluids (fluids given through your vein).
Rotavirus vaccination is the best way to protect your child from rotavirus disease. Children, even those who are vaccinated, may get infected and sick from rotavirus more than once. That is because neither natural infection with rotavirus nor vaccination provides full protection from future infections.
Infectious Diarrhea
In temperate climates, a sharp increase in incidence of cases occurs during the winter months. In the United States, the peak rotavirus season begins in November in the Southwest and ends in the Northeast in April.
Yellow, pale brown, or gray: Giardiasis can cause bright yellow diarrhea. Pale yellow or gray stool can result from problems in the liver or gallbladder. Orange: Eating carrots, winter squash, antibiotics, or antacids could cause this color.
Outbreaks can occur in child care centers or after the ingestion of contaminated food such as shellfish, salads, or ice. Often, the food is contaminated by infected food handlers. Globally, rotaviruses are the most common cause of severe diarrhea in children younger than 2 years.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, rotavirus incubates for up to 48 hours, so if your child is exposed, symptoms won't appear for a day or two. 1 The illness itself can last for up to ten days and you should consider your child contagious for about twelve days.
Rotavirus infection alters the function of the small intestinal epithelium, resulting in diarrhea. The diarrhea was generally considered to be malabsorptive, secondary to enterocyte destruction (34).