Rotavirus

Rotavirus is the most common virus to cause gastroenteritis (a gut infection that results in diarrhoea, vomiting, fever and stomach cramps) in children in the UK. Most children have experienced this illness by the time they reach the age of five. Rotavirus often spreads in homes, nurseries and schools as it can live on hard surfaces such as door handles, toys or furniture for a long time.

Incubation period

2 days

Symptoms

Diarrhoea, Vomiting, Fever, Abdominal pain, Loss of appetite

Possible complications

Dehydration, Death (in rare cases)

About rotavirus

Rotavirus is a virus that is a common cause of diarrhoea in children. By the age of five, almost all children will have encountered it, usually during the first two years of life.

Rotavirus diarrhoea occurs in annual epidemics every spring. Although many children die throughout the world from rotavirus infections, children infected in the UK and other developed countries rarely become seriously ill.

Rotavirus symptoms

The most common symptoms of rotavirus are severe watery diarrhoea, vomiting, fever, and/or abdominal pain. These symptoms will usually start about two days after being exposed to rotavirus and last for three to eight days.

People can also experience loss of appetite and dehydration, which can be dangerous for infants and young children.

Possible complications

Every year in the UK, several thousand children are admitted to hospitals with dehydration caused by rotavirus diarrhoea.

Symptoms of dehydration include decreased urination, a dry mouth and throat, feeling dizzy, crying with few or no tears, unusual sleepiness, or fussiness.

Rotavirus can be fatal in rare cases; in the UK, around three or four children die every year from rotavirus infection.

Rotavirus FAQs

Rotavirus is a highly contagious virus that is most commonly spread through the faecal-oral route. This is often because an infected person hasn’t washed their hands properly or often enough after going to the toilet and has then touched door handles, toys and other hard surfaces where the virus can continue to live for a long time. Rotavirus can also be caught from contaminated food and drink.

Rotavirus is the most common virus to cause gastroenteritis (an infection of the gut) in children in the UK. In fact, almost every child will have had rotavirus by the time they reach the age of five.

FIND OUT EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ROTAVIRUS VACCINATION HERE

It is possible to send a stool sample for laboratory testing to confirm that a child has rotavirus. However, the advice is usually to make sure the person with symptoms of gastroenteritis (diarrhoea, vomiting, fever and stomach cramps) drinks plenty of fluids to stay hydrated until the symptoms pass, regardless of whether or not they are caused by rotavirus.

There are no medical treatments for rotavirus and most children can be cared for at home. It’s important to make sure anyone with gastroenteritis drinks plenty of fluid in order to stay hydrated.

If you are worried that your child has rotavirus and is becoming dehydrated or has other symptoms such as seeming confused or being unable to keep fluids down then you should seek medical advice.

Rotavirus statistics

Rotavirus is not a notifiable infectious disease, which means that cases don’t have to be reported. As a result, we don’t know the exact number of cases in the UK or worldwide over the past 12 months.

Research from 2018 found that, worldwide, rotavirus infection caused 128,500 deaths and 258,173,300 episodes of diarrhoea among children younger than five years in 2016 (more recent global figures aren’t currently available).

According to the Vaccine Knowledge Project, each year in the UK:

  • 130,000 children are so unwell with rotavirus that they needed to see their GP
  • Approximately 36,000 children with rotavirus are taken to A&E
  • Around 12,700 of these are admitted to hospital, usually because of severe dehydration
  • It is thought that three or four children die each year in the UK as a result of rotavirus infection, and some people have given higher estimates
  • Death is typically due to severe dehydration caused by diarrhoea and vomiting

You can search the Office for National Statistics (ONS) website for the most recently published information about deaths where rotavirus was registered as an underlying cause.

Individual advice about protecting your child against rotavirus

Need advice about vaccinating your child against rotavirus? The BabyJabs team is here to listen and answer your questions to help you decide.