Oct 18, 2021
“Viruses are named after what they look like. The rotavirus looks like a wheel; the astrovirus, like a star; and the adenovirus, like a spaceship.”
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“Viruses are named after what they look like. The rotavirus looks like a wheel; the astrovirus, like a star; and the adenovirus, like a spaceship.”
Top Ten Deadliest Viruses by Human fatalities by Year
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What is the Stomach Flu?
Well, it's not a flu. Most of the time, your stomach "flu" is rotavirus. Influenza is a respiratory illness. So, respiratory tract only. Not your gastrointestinal tract.
Rotavirus is transmitted via the fecal-oral route. High concentrations of the virus are shed in fecal matter of infected infants. The virus can be spread in a number of ways, including but not limited to: fecally contaminated food/water, contaminated respiratory droplets, and contaminated surfaces. Rotavirus shows strong environmental-survival and can survive on unsanitized surfaces or water for a number of days. Infection can occur with a relative low number of virions (<100 virus particles), causing it to be highly communicable, especially in areas densely populated by children (such as daycare centres, etc.).
Generally symptoms of rotavirus are: watery diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and abdominal pain. Side effects due to dehydration also result in symptoms such as decreased urination, dry mouth/throat, few/no tears when crying, and dizziness. The first infection with rotavirus is most commonly the most severe. It can last up to two weeks in infants. In adults, rotavirus does not typically last longer than a couple days.
Prior to rotavirus vaccination, rotavirus would infect 4 our of every 5 children under the age of 5, and resulted in ~352,000-592,000 deaths every years from severe dehydration.
Thankfully there's a vaccine to cover it nowadays. RotaTech and Rotarix have resulted in 98% and 87% protection from rotavirus gastroenteritis, respectively.
~Rosie
Image: http://bit.ly/1GdXdKw
Source: http://www.cdc.gov/rotavirus/
Watch our full-length tutorials to learn the microbiology and pathology of these microorganisms! drawittoknowit.com
Rotavirus Anatomy
This scientific illustration inset (from a larger poster) shows the anatomy of a rotavirus particle. The different capsids that surround the RNA strands are isolated and positioned within a flat, gray virus shape to show their relevant size and position within the complete virus.
Vaccination against rotavirus is associated with a reduced incidence of type 1 diabetes in children, according to an analysis of U.S. insurance data.
The rotavirus vaccine may have an unexpected benefit: a reduced likelihood of developing type 1 diabetes.
The vaccine is highly effective at protecting against intestinal infections caused by the virus (SN: 8/8/15, p. 5). Past work in mice prone to diabetes suggests infection with rotavirus can hasten damage to beta cells in the pancreas, the cells that are destroyed in a person with type 1 diabetes.
Researchers analyzed private insurance data, covering 2001 to 2017, for close to 1.5 million U.S. children who were infants at the time of enrollment. Among children fully vaccinated against rotavirus, there was a 41 percent reduction in the incidence of type 1 diabetes compared with unvaccinated children, the team reports online June 13 in Scientific Reports.
The results apply to both of the rotavirus vaccines available in the United States. In fully vaccinated children, the incidence of type 1 diabetes was 12.2 cases per 100,000 people per year; in the unvaccinated group, it was 20.6 per 100,000. There wasn’t a benefit for partially vaccinated kids either, those who did not complete the full number of doses.
In the United States, around 1.25 million people have type 1 diabetes, which occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks insulin-secreting beta cells.
The new work was inspired by a study of Australian children, published in JAMA Pediatrics in January, which reported a decline in the incidence of type 1 diabetes after the start of routine rotavirus vaccination.
The research suggests rotavirus vaccination may be a tool to help prevent type 1 diabetes, though more work is needed, says epidemiologist Mary Rogers at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Type 1 diabetes “has no cure,” so preventing even a proportion of cases could transform lives, she says.
This site provides information about viral gastroenteritis (stomach flu), bacterial gastroenteritis, parasitic gastroenteritis, food borne illnesses, and food poisoning. The purpose of this site is to educate viewers so they can avoid getting and spreading these illnesses, including norovirus and rotavirus.
[Image: a child’s hands getting sudsed up in the sink]
Folks: this site is freaking comprehensive. Wanna know exactly how stomach bugs work? Want incubation times, disinfectants, length of contagion, and more? You got it.
After her kiddo had a nasty bout with a stomach virus, this biochemistry PHD decided to just… go for it. She built a whole dang website.
The amount of data and research (some of it her own!) on the site is staggering, and detailed, and perfect for folks who really cannot afford to get these illnesses.
This recommendation comes with Editor Diane‘s seal of approval: our family consists of a recovering emetophobic auntie with POTS, an immunocompromised and OCD/germaphobic mama, an abled dad, and a small child—and stomach bugs absolutely destroy us. This is our go-to site for the info we need to micromanage the little germies.
p.s.— Dr. Annie has another site for her research on various disinfectants and germ reduction choices, so don’t forget to have a look there, too!
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