China News Service, Beijing, April 23 (Reporter Yu Zhanyi) Rotavirus is one of the main pathogens that cause diarrhea in infants and young children. It is easy to cause severe diarrhea in infants and young children, and may even lead to death due to dehydration.

As China’s 35th National Childhood Vaccination Promotion Day is approaching, experts reminded that there is currently no cure for rotavirus infection, and vaccination is the best way to prevent rotavirus infection.

Infants and young children are most severely infected with rotavirus for the first time

  The last week of April is designated as "World Immunization Week". April 25 is China's 35th National Child Vaccination Publicity Day. This year's theme is "vaccinations, disease prevention and control, health care, and lifelong protection."

  Zhang Lingli, deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association and president of the Health Times, said that in 2020, the infant mortality rate in China has dropped to 5.4 per thousand (5.4‰), and the mortality rate of children under 5 has dropped to 7 per thousand. Point five (7.5‰), this indicator ranks among the top middle and high-income countries in the world.

Diarrhea caused by rotavirus infection is a serious infectious disease, and children under 5 years of age are very susceptible to infection.

According to estimates by the World Health Organization, in 2013, about 220,000 children under the age of 5 died from rotavirus infection.

  Li Dandi, a researcher at the Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that the peak age of rotavirus diarrhea is 6 months to 2 years old, and infants and young children have the most severe symptoms of first infection with rotavirus, so rotavirus diarrhea Most of the hospitalized patients are infants under 2 years old, and severe or dead cases also mainly occur in infants under 1 year old.

  "Rotavirus can cause sporadic, outbreak, and functional damage of multiple organs outside the intestine. Some children may also have pneumonia, nervous system and autoimmune system diseases." Li Dandi said, "Children with a moderate to severe diarrhea The risk of death within two months after illness can be increased to 8.5 times. Early rotavirus severe diarrhea or repeated diarrhea can also affect brain development and have a profound impact on children's height, growth and development, and cognition."

Hygiene measures such as hand washing are not enough to prevent rotavirus infection

  Experts believe that most infants and young children who are infected with rotavirus may have symptoms of gastroenteritis such as vomiting, fever, and diarrhea, but severe cases can cause dehydration due to severe diarrhea and vomiting, which can lead to electrolyte imbalance, and even shock and death.

  “Especially for premature babies, low birth weight babies and children with low immunity, the consequences of infection with rotavirus are usually very serious.” said Duan Zhaojun, assistant to the director of the Viral Disease Prevention and Control Institute of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and director of the Viral Diarrhea Room. Rotavirus diarrhea is an intestinal infectious disease, which is mainly transmitted directly through the feces or mouth. It can also be transmitted indirectly through contact with objects, hands, utensils, etc. contaminated by feces or vomit and droplets, and eating water contaminated by rotavirus And food can also cause infection.

  So, as long as you wash your hands frequently, can diseases such as round diarrhea be kept out?

Duan Zhaojun emphasized that rotavirus diarrhea is a category C infectious disease in my country and is highly contagious.

Rotavirus can survive on the hands for several hours and on the surface of the toy for several days.

Scientific research has concluded that the improvement of sanitary conditions cannot effectively control its spread, and measures such as hand washing and drinking water sanitation are not sufficient to prevent rotavirus infection.

  Cui Yutao, a well-known parenting expert, said that rotavirus may be just a simple cold process at first, and then fever and vomiting will begin, and then there will be severe electrolyte loss, and the child will quickly become dehydrated.

  "Parents must pay special attention to their children. If they don't urinate for 4 hours, they should be highly suspected of dehydration. Parents should not wait for self-healing. It is recommended that they be sent to the hospital immediately." Cui Yutao said.

Vaccination is the only effective preventive method

  As we all know, vaccination is the most effective, simplest, and most economical means of controlling infectious diseases, and it is also a protective umbrella for human health.

Currently, the rotavirus vaccines on the market in China, one is a domestic oral rotavirus vaccine, and the other is an imported oral five-valent reassortant rotavirus vaccine. Both vaccines have relatively good immune effects.

  "At present, there is no specific cure for rotavirus infection, so prevention is very important. The World Health Organization recommends that babies can be vaccinated with rotavirus from 6 weeks of age, that is, early vaccination and early protection. "Zhang Lingli introduced.

  Cui Yutao said that vaccinating children with rotavirus vaccine before the peak incidence of infants and young children from 6 months to 2 years old can play a very good role in protection.

Take the oral vaccination of pentavalent rotavirus vaccine as an example. Calculated by age, it should be the first dose of 6-12 weeks of age. The interval between each dose is 4-10 weeks, so it must be within 10-22 weeks of age. Inoculate the second dose, and the third dose within 14-32 weeks of age. The three doses should be completed before 32 weeks of age (8 months of age), and you must pay attention to it on time.

  Is it necessary to vaccinate?

Will there be no rotavirus infection after vaccination?

Cui Yutao believes that all vaccines are for serious infectious diseases, and there is no such thing as "fighting or not fighting".

Although the infection cannot be completely eliminated after vaccination, even if it is infected, the probability of symptoms is very slight.

  In addition, Cui Yutao also reminds parents of infants and young children that when infants and young children are not vaccinated and become infected, they should take oral rehydration salts as soon as possible to prevent or treat mild dehydration. Do not use sugar water, rice soup, etc. instead of oral rehydration salts. Prevent electrolyte disturbance.

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