Gastroenteritis (inflammation of the intestine) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, especially in newborns and children under 5 years of age. The causative agent in acute gastroenteritis, which is held responsible for the majority of childhood deaths, is often viruses, and the most important factor in viral gastroenteritis is Rotavirus. Rotavirus diarrhea, also known as neonatal diarrhea or winter diarrhea, poses a significant problem for both developed and developing countries. One of the features that make rotavirus diarrhea important is; The high rate of hospitalization due to diarrhea. In this sense, the economic burden it brings appears to be costly for the family and the country. They constitute 39% of hospitalizations with the diagnosis of acute gastroenteritis. Rotaviruses are the most common cause of hospitalization due to severe dehydration due to diarrhea in infants and older children in both developed and developing countries. His latest works; It causes approximately 110 million patients with gastroenteritis, 25 million outpatient clinic visits, 2 million hospitalizations and the death of 440,000 children annually. In the world; While approximately one in 50 children is hospitalized due to diarrhea and dehydration, on average one in 20-25 children in Turkey suffers from diarrhea every year. Although it appears at the same rate; The reason why the mortality rate due to rota infection is low in developed countries is that the hospital is accessible and the rate of hospitalization is high. The reason for the high mortality rate in developing countries is that the nutrition and hygiene conditions are not optimal. The younger the age and the worse the care conditions, the more likely the rota virus is. It affects the child badly at that rate; It can also have a severe course in cases of not breastfeeding, crowded living, low socioeconomic status and lack of rota vaccination. The disease is highly contagious and is transmitted through the mouth and feces, often causing outbreaks in public places such as nurseries and schools. Underwear, clothes, toys and bed linens on which the rotavirus adheres play an important role in the transmission of the disease. The virus can also spread through coughing and sneezing.
Clinically, complaints begin between 12 hours and 4 days after exposure to rotavirus infection and last for 4 to 8 days. It lasts for days. It usually begins with sudden vomiting following an incubation period of 18 to 48 hours. Half of the patients are accompanied by high fever, very foul-smelling diarrhea and abdominal pain. It is characterized by particularly persistent vomiting and diarrhea. Consequently, it causes severe dehydration. The disease usually has a mild course, but in severe clinical conditions, it can lead to fluid and electrolyte imbalances due to excessively watery diarrhea and dehydration that can result in death.
Diagnosis; It is diagnosed based on history, physical examination and laboratory findings. Tests for the causative virus, elisa and latex agglutination, are the basic diagnostic methods for rotavirus antigen in the stool sample.
In treatment; The most important life-saving approach in children with acute gastroenteritis is dehydration treatment. Oral rehydration fluid (ORS) is given to children with mild and moderate dehydration. Foods suitable for diarrhea such as yoghurt, rice yoghurt soups, potatoes and bananas, and breast milk and special diarrhea formulas for babies should be given first. Intravenous fluid therapy is applied to children with excessive fluid loss.
Hygiene comes first in protection. Great importance should be given to children's hand hygiene, and nursery and kindergarten students should not be sent to school when they are sick. To prevent indoor contamination, care should be taken to clean shared toys and similar items. Breastfeeding mothers should not contact the baby without washing their hands after cleaning the baby's diaper.
The best for protection; What is very important is; It is the application of rotavirus vaccines developed for the disease. The application is oral. There are two types of rotavirus vaccines in our country.
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The protection of the vaccines varies between 85% and 95%. Another feature of the vaccines is that they cause the disease to be mild.
VACCINATION SHOULD BE START AT SUCH A TIME SO THAT THE LAST DOSE IS MOST MINIMUM. IT SHOULD BE DONE WHEN THE BABY IS 32 WEEKS OLD; IF IT'S LATE A VACCINATION SHOULD NEVER BE STARTED.
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