Rotavirus Cause Gastroenteritis In Children

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This essay will be about the disease gastroenteritis. Gastroenteritis is the inflammation of a human’s stomach and intestines. Rotavirus is the most common viral infectious agent responsible for causing gastroenteritis in children. In 1972, norovirus was identified as the first virus causing gastroenteritis. After this discovery, other viruses causing gastroenteritis were discovered, such as rotavirus, adenoviruses, calicivirus, and astrovirus. Before vaccines were introduced in 2006, Rotavirus was the leading cause of severe diarrhea in infants and young children.
Rotaviruses are 70-nm non-enveloped RNA viruses in the family Reoviridae, and they have a wheel-like shape. The viral nucleocapsid contains eleven segments of double-stranded RNA enclosed by three concentric shells. Rotavirus infects the small intestine by releasing an enterotoxin and destroying the epithelial surface, resulting in blunted villi, and shedding of massive quantities of the virus in stool. Rotaviruses are shed in high …show more content…

Several commercial test kits are available that detect an antigen common to human rotaviruses. These kits are simple to use, inexpensive, and very sensitive. Rotavirus antigen can also be identified in the serum of patients 3-7 days after disease onset, but routine diagnostic testing is based primarily on the testing of stool specimens.
There are currently two Rotavirus vaccines available to help prevent rotavirus illness and both vaccines are given orally. RotaTeq (RV5) is given in 3 doses to children when they are 2 months old, 4 months old, and 6 months old. Rotarix (RV1) is given in 2 doses to children when they reach the ages of 2 months and 4 months. Handwashing also helps prevent the spread of rotavirus. There are no treatments for rotavirus infection since antibiotics cannot treat virus

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