WEDNESDAY, June 25 (HealthDay News) -- A new vaccine for
rotavirus -- a leading cause of vomiting and diarrhea in infants
and children -- may account for this year's less severe season, the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.
The highly contagious virus is shed in the stools of infected
people and is transmitted by contaminated hands and objects.
Children can transmit the virus before and after they become sick
with diarrhea.
The nation's leading cause of severe gastroenteritis in infants
and young children, rotavirus typically is responsible for some
410,000 doctor visits, up to 270,000 trips to the emergency room,
up to 70,000 hospitalizations, and as many as 60 deaths in the
United States each year.
The numbers at many "surveillance centers" nationwide have been
down sharply in the ongoing season. Lab tests for the virus are
down 37 percent from average, and positive tests are 79 percent
lower than usual, the CDC said in a prepared statement.
Also, rotavirus activity was delayed about three months from its
typical start in November, and it peaked in April this year instead
of the usual peak time of March, the agency said.
In 2006, Merck & Co.'s RotaTeq was introduced in the United
States for routine vaccination of children at ages 2 months, 4
months, and 6 months.
"The changes appear to be greater than expected based on the
protective effects of the vaccine alone," said Dr. Anne Schuchat,
director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory
Diseases at the CDC. "It is also possible the current levels of
vaccination may be helping to decrease the spread of rotavirus to
unvaccinated individuals in the community."
More information
The
CDC has more about rotavirus.
