A lesser-known virus that can cause fatal diarrhea is surging in California
yahoo.com • • health
Key Points:
- Rotavirus infections are rising across the U.S., especially in California's Bay Area and parts of the Northeast, as detected through wastewater analysis and CDC data since mid-December.
- The virus is highly contagious and particularly severe in children under five, causing symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and dehydration, with potential fatal outcomes without vaccination.
- Recent changes to U.S. vaccine recommendations now allow parents and doctors to decide on rotavirus vaccination, moving away from the previous CDC guideline of universal vaccination for young children.
- Major medical organizations warn that relaxing vaccine recommendations could lead to increased illness and deaths, emphasizing that vaccines remain the most effective protection against severe rotavirus infection.
- Rotavirus vaccines, administered orally to infants, have significantly reduced hospitalizations and clinic visits, with a very low risk of serious side effects such as intussusception.
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