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Disease information 

Virus or bacteria

Rotavirus is caused by a virus of the same name that infects the lining of the intestines.

How it spreads

• Hands, toys and surfaces that are contaminated with an infected person's feces.
• Respiratory droplets

Every child will be infected with rotavirus by 5 years of age.

Symptoms

• Watery diarrhea
• Fever greater than 102°F
• Vomiting

Typical disease timeline

Rotavirus typically lasts about 7 days.

Possible complications

• Dehydration
• Hospitalization
• Death (About 20 to 60 deaths were caused by rotavirus every year in the U.S. before a vaccine was available.)

Other things to know

• Rotaviruses can infect almost all mammals and some bird species.
• Every year rotavirus infections led to 25 million doctor visits and 2 million hospitalizations throughout the world before a vaccine was available.
• More than 500,000 deaths also occurred each year around the world. These deaths were mostly due to lack of medical care for dehydration. That’s about 1 death every minute of every day throughout the entire year.

Vaccine information

The rotavirus vaccine is used to prevent rotavirus.

Vaccine type

• Live, “weakened” vaccines

Vaccine side effects

Common

• Vomiting (15 to 18 of 100 recipients)
• Diarrhea (9 to 24 of 100 recipients)
• Irritability (13 to 62 of 100 recipients)
• Fever (40 to 43 of 100 recipients)

Rare

• Intestinal blockage, called intussusception (1 in 100,000 doses)

Very rare

• Serious allergic reaction (fewer than 1 of 1,000,000 recipients)

Other things to know

• Before there was a vaccine, rotavirus caused about 2.7 million infections each year in the U.S.
• Intussusception is a medical emergency caused when the intestine becomes blocked because part of it folds, or telescopes, into itself. Rates of this side effect with current rotavirus vaccines are similar to the rates that occurred following rotavirus infections before the vaccines were available.
• The rotavirus vaccine is given at specific ages to decrease the chance for intestinal blockages while still ensuring babies are protected by the age when their risk for a rotavirus infection increases.

Reasons to get the rotavirus vaccine

• Every child will get rotavirus by 5 years of age.
• Some children with rotavirus will have to go to the hospital.
• Rotavirus occurs throughout the world.
• Rotavirus spreads regardless of the level of sanitation.
• The rotavirus vaccine is safe.