China News Service, Shanghai, September 24 (Reporter Chen Jing) The temperature in autumn turns cold, and the child's diarrhea problem troubles parents.
Cao Qing, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Children's Medical Center Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University, said in an interview on the 24th that rotavirus is one of the main culprits in infectious diarrhea in autumn, which is most common in children aged 6 weeks to 2 years old.
She pointed out that because rotavirus is highly contagious, parents need to pay attention to disease protection, and current vaccination is the best way to prevent rotavirus infection.
It is reported that rotavirus is the leading cause of severe dehydration diarrhea in children under the age of 5 in the world. In China, rotavirus infection can occur throughout the year, and the disease is especially high in autumn and winter, so it is called "autumn diarrhea".
"Unlike ordinary diarrhea, rotavirus diarrhea has the characteristics of 'three more and one less', that is, children have more stools, 10 to 20 times a day; more watery diarrhea; more stools and less urine. Because rotavirus diarrhea can lead to dehydration in children, it can even be life-threatening in severe cases." Cao Qing added, "Diarrhoeal disease is one of the important causes of death in children under the age of 5 worldwide, which is closely related to rotavirus infection. In addition to gastrointestinal symptoms, rotavirus can invade the heart muscle, kidneys, liver and lungs, and these symptoms tend to be more severe. Rotavirus can also enter the bloodstream and cause systemic infection."
In the interview, Cao Qing emphasized: "For young children, special attention should be paid. If diarrhea occurs repeatedly within 2 years of birth, it may affect growth, development and cognitive function. This is because rotavirus has a destructive effect on intestinal mucosal cells, and then It affects the intestinal absorption of lactose, causing lactose intolerance, and the child vomits as soon as he eats milk; in the long run, it will inevitably affect the child's nutrient absorption and growth and development."
The expert introduced that rotavirus is mainly transmitted through the fecal-oral route, but also through respiratory droplets and close contact between people.
Children may be infected with rotavirus in kindergartens, schools, and hospitals.
And rotavirus is very cunning, acid and alkali resistant, and it is difficult to completely remove it with ordinary disinfectants and hand sanitizers.
Studies have shown that rotavirus can survive on hands for hours and on surfaces for days.
"It should be noted that the caregivers of infants and young children may also transmit the virus to their children. Many parents wonder, how could my child contract the virus without going out?" Cao Qing explained, "In fact, except for infants and young children who are prone to infection Adults may also be infected with rotavirus, most of them are asymptomatic infected people, but they still have the ability to transmit the virus.
"Unfortunately, there is currently no specific medicine for rotavirus diarrhea. Doctors can only provide symptomatic treatments such as oral rehydration salts or infusions to solve the problem of dehydration in children. For severe children, diarrhea will be accompanied by vomiting, which makes it impossible to Oral rehydration salts, but we must find ways to relieve dehydration and avoid further harm." Cao Qing said bluntly.
"An important goal of vaccination is to prevent severe disease." Cao Qing pointed out that in fact, the mortality rate of rotavirus diarrhea has shown a significant downward trend in recent years. rate and reduce the burden of disease.
Cao Qing said frankly that vaccination is actually the most economical means of prevention and treatment.
"Rotavirus has a variety of strain types. The main circulating strains of rotavirus in China can be divided into G type and P type. There are many serotypes under the two types, and G type and P type are crossed together. There will be many serotypes. This is why even if a child is infected with rotavirus once and recovers, it is still possible to re-infect other different strains." Cao Qing introduced, "At present, the main epidemic strains in China are G1, G2, G3, G4, G9."
Cao Qing reminded the public that no matter what kind of rotavirus vaccine, there is a clear window for vaccination. For example, the first dose of pentavalent rotavirus vaccine needs to be taken between 6-12 weeks of age. Once missed, it cannot be re-vaccinated.
She suggested that the rotavirus vaccine should be vaccinated as soon as possible, and the vaccine should be vaccinated early and protected early.
"The rotavirus vaccine has two advantages. One is the oral vaccine, and the baby does not need to suffer from needles; the other is that through reasonable planning, the rotavirus vaccine can be vaccinated at the same time as other intramuscular vaccines." Cao Qing said that newborns need to be vaccinated In order to avoid missing the timing of vaccination, it is recommended that parents of newborns communicate with the doctor at the vaccination site in time when they receive the second dose of hepatitis B vaccine (4 weeks old).
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