Have You Heard Of This Contagious Disease That Affects Many Children?

Before our baby is even born, we tend to already become strongly protective over them. Mothers, especially, start watching their own food intake while pregnant. Overall, we just want to make sure our babies are safe.

The second they are born, we ensure that they go for all of their check-ups in a timely manner so that doctors can ensure that their development is on track and also meet the appropriate immunisation schedule. But parents, did you know that the National Immunisation Programme doesn’t cover all the vaccines that our babies should receive?

One of the vaccines that we cannot get at government clinics or hospitals is the rotavirus vaccine.

Most first time parents would not even have heard of this before. But this disease is one that is contagious and could potentially lead to death. In fact, 1 in 61 children may be hospitalised for rotavirus disease¹, which can be preventable by getting the vaccine!

If that doesn’t convince you, we’re here to tell you why else we think you should include it in your child’s immunisation schedule.

What Is Rotavirus?

The first thing you need to know is what rotavirus is. Rotavirus is a virus that causes intestinal problems resulting in diarrhoea, vomiting and fever too. The vomiting and fever will come first, followed by the diarrhoea².

Sometimes, it is hard for us parents to tell, especially if we’re new parents, the difference between spit up or vomiting due to overfeeding versus vomiting because the baby is unwell.

If your baby is vomiting frequently and that vomiting is paired with a fever, it is an indication of something more serious than just a session of overfeeding. It could be gastrointestinal issues³, or rotavirus infection.

Parents may also find it hard to differentiate between newborn poop and diarrhoea.

The rule of thumb to follow here is that a fully breastfed newborn baby should pass a stool roughly after every feed up to 6 times a day, have a seedy or runny consistency and this is considered normal. If they are formula fed, they could pass a stool 1-8 times a day for the first week before the frequency reduces to 1 to 4 times a day afterwards, and have the consistency of peanut butter. If your baby is passing stools more frequently than that and the stools are very watery, you can suspect diarrhoea⁴.

If you suspect that your baby is having diarrhoea and this comes after a bout of vomiting and fever, that is the sequence of symptoms of rotavirus⁵.

How can a baby contract rotavirus?

A baby can get rotavirus from their poop. It is in their poop before symptoms start and can remain in their poop for another 10 days after the symptoms have lessened⁶.

A caretaker, like a nanny or a parent, could potentially carry the virus when we are cleaning the baby’s dirty diaper and the virus will contaminate anything we touch after that. A baby could touch these contaminated surfaces or objects, then as babies do, put their hands in their mouth, and the virus will infect them⁷.

What to do if a baby has rotavirus?

If you suspect your baby has rotavirus, then the first thing you must do is bring your baby to a doctor at a clinic or hospital.

Typically, symptoms will show up after 2 days of contracting the virus. With the symptoms of vomiting or diarrhoea, your baby might also have a loss of appetite. At this age, since their only nutritional intake comes from milk, this could lead to dehydration⁸.

So how to tell if your child is dehydrated? They could have fewer wet diapers, crying with no tears, overall fussiness and in more severe cases, sunken eyes too.

In complicated cases, like where dehydration is concerned for infants, it could even lead to death⁹.

Why is rotavirus so serious?

Besides the fact that it could lead to death, rotavirus is a serious disease because it is not treatable with any specific medication.

Neither antibiotics nor antiviral drugs available right now can treat it.

Yes, that’s right. There is nothing that can be done to kill the virus immediately.

The only thing doctors can do is let the virus run its course but treat the symptoms of the disease. They can prescribe fever medication or rehydration fluids to prevent dehydration. But the virus will need to work its way through a baby’s fragile system over the course of an entire week¹⁰!

Of course, you should not ever let it get to this point. In fact, prevention is better than cure. And the good news, as we’ve said earlier, is that rotavirus is preventable!

How to prevent rotavirus?

One way for parents to protect their babies from rotavirus is to give them the rotavirus vaccination. Frequent handwashing or sanitising is helpful as it may lessen the likelihood of spreading or contracting rotavirus, but is not a guarantee.

So for ease of mind, parents should consider adding this vaccine to their immunisation schedule as soon as possible!

It is important for parents to talk to your paediatrician about the vaccine from as early as the first appointment all the way up to your baby’s 6-week checkup.

Rotavirus vaccines can be found at many private hospitals or clinics. So all you need to do is find a private hospital or clinic near you to make an appointment for the vaccine.

Parents, here is a bonus for you!

Recently, the Malaysian government has also announced that parents can enjoy tax relief for vaccinations. According to Bernama, RM1,000 tax relief for vaccinations includes the rotavirus vaccine as well as a list of other vaccinations¹¹.

For a list of hospitals or clinics that carry this vaccine, you may refer to this list here.

MY-ROT-00113 Aug/2021

Reference:

1. Hsu, V. P., Rahman, H. bin A., Wong, S. L., Ibrahim, L. H. J., Yusoff, A. F. H. J., Chan, L. G., Parashar, U., Glass, R. I., & Bresee, J. (2005, September 1). Estimates of the Burden of Rotavirus Disease in Malaysia. OUP Academic. https://academic.oup.com/jid/article/192/Supplement_1/S80/2191980.

2. WebMD. (n.d.). What Is Rotavirus? Causes, Treatment, and Prevention. WebMD. www.webmd.com/children/guide/what-is-rotavirus.

3. Gastrointestinal Problems. Gastrointestinal Problems - Health Encyclopedia - University of Rochester Medical Center. (n.d.). www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=90&ContentID=P02216.

4. Diarrhea (0-12 Months). Seattle Children's Hospital. (2021, March 11). https://www.seattlechildrens.org/conditions/a-z/diarrhea-0-12-months/#:~:text=Breastfed%20babies%20often%20pass%20more,stools%2C%20the%20baby%20has%20diarrhea
5. WebMD. (n.d.). What Is Rotavirus? Causes, Treatment, and Prevention. WebMD. www.webmd.com/children/guide/what-is-rotavirus.
6. WebMD. (n.d.). What Is Rotavirus? Causes, Treatment, and Prevention. WebMD. www.webmd.com/children/guide/what-is-rotavirus.
7. WebMD. (n.d.). What Is Rotavirus? Causes, Treatment, and Prevention. WebMD. www.webmd.com/children/guide/what-is-rotavirus.
8. WebMD. (n.d.). What Is Rotavirus? Causes, Treatment, and Prevention. WebMD. www.webmd.com/children/guide/what-is-rotavirus.

9. Lim, B. Y. (2016, May 24). Rotavirus Vaccine. PORTAL MyHEALTH. www.myhealth.gov.my/en/rotavirus-vaccine/.

10. WebMD. (n.d.). What Is Rotavirus? Causes, Treatment, and Prevention. WebMD. www.webmd.com/children/guide/what-is-rotavirus.

11. Bernama. (2020, December 16). Parliament: Tax exemptions for COVID-19 treatment, vaccine - MoF. BERNAMA. www.bernama.com/en/general/news_covid-19.php?id=1912872.

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