The contagious rotavirus causes inflammation of the stomach and intestines and can cause severe diarrhea and dehydration in newborns, which sometimes requires hospitalization, reports the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).
Every year, approximately 3,500 children have to go to hospital, and five to six children die every year from the consequences of a rotavirus infection.
Rotavirus infection is common in young children, yet the virus is not well known. According to the RIVM, this is because the infection can only be demonstrated by laboratory testing, and this is not always carried out when children have diarrhea.
Protection
To prevent hospitalization and death, vaccination against rotavirus will be added to the National Vaccination Program (RVP) from 2024. The vaccine protects children against serious illness for at least three years, meaning they are protected at the age when they are most vulnerable.
The rotavaccine is a liquid in a small tube that is placed in the mouth of children at the clinic. Children receive the drops around the age of six to nine weeks and again around the age of three months.
The vaccine has been given in more countries since 2006, where the number of hospital admissions of children with rotavirus infection has fallen significantly.
Darminvaginatie
As with any vaccination, there may be side effects after vaccination with the rotavirus vaccine. Children don’t feel well or get a bit of diarrhea. That is less serious and lasts shorter than the complaints caused by the virus.
A very rare side effect that can occur in the first week after vaccination is intussusception, where part of the intestines blocks or twists. This is easily treatable with medical care. Treatment in hospital consists of trying to push back the invagination, and sometimes surgery is necessary, according to the RIVM.
2024-01-11 12:47:40
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