ROTAVIRUS

A leading cause of severe diarrhea in early childhood (acute infantile gastroenteritis), rotavirus infection each year causes an estimated 500,000 doctor visits and 50,000 hospital admissions in the United States. Almost everyone catches rotavirus in childhood but, with good nutrition and rehydration, nearly all recover uneventfully. However, in poor countries there are at least 600,000 deaths of children under 5 years from rotavirus diarrhea and dehydration. Rotavirus was discovered in 1973 and took its name from its wheel-like appearance (rota means wheel in Latin). A vaccine has been reported in The New England Journal of Medicine (vol. 337, pp. 1181-7, 1997) to provide a high level of protection against severe diarrhea caused by rotavirus.