Rotavirus gastro

Disease information

Rotavirus gastro

Rotavirus is the name of a virus family that shares some common characteristics. Its name comes from the Latin root "broken" by the appearance that they have "to rotate" when it is observed to them through an electron microscope.

Several groups of rotavirus exist that fundamentally affect to the stomach and the intestine causing acute gastroenteritis, whose main symptoms are the fever, the diarrea and the vomit. The infection by rotavirus initiates with slight fever and followed vomit of loose evacuations and although the fever and the vomit yield generally to the second day, the diarrea can continue until by 8 days.

The gastroenteritis by rotavirus affects to any person and any age, but in the smaller children of 5 years, she is more frequent and dangerous.

The virus transmits by contaminated foods or water with fecal matter, by direct bonding, flow - anus - mouth or not to wash the hands after going to the bath and before touching, preparing or to consume foods. Many babies contract the virus by lack of hygiene in the hands of their mothers or the people who prepare their foods to them.

It is considered that almost all the children are infected by rotavirus during the first 4 years of age, in fact, the first infection usually happens before between the 3 and 24 months of age or if the conditions of hygiene are not appropriate.

In Mexico, in a made study, it was both observed that one third part of the children experienced his first infection at the age of 6 months, two third parts before the year of age and 96% percent before years of age with the risk of becoming to infect several times.

Nevertheless, most of the cases, although they contract the virus, they do not attend in the disease and one calculates that he is 30% of infected those that develop gastroenteritis by rotavirus, of these, several must be hospitalized and some get fundamentally to be killed by the dehydration.

Although I infect with rotavirus is possible to be given at any time of the year, in the babies is much more frequent of November to April. The virus acquires itself generally when the boy takes the fingers to the mouth after touching something contaminated with the fecal matter of an infected person.

IMPORTANT the content of this note is informative and it does not replace the medical diagnosis, reason why we do not become people in charge on its use.

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