Rotavirus Symptoms

Rotaviruses are principal etiological agents of acute gastroenteritis in infants and young children around the world. These non-enveloped viruses enter human cells by various types of endocytosis and, depending on the virus strain, travel to different endosomal compartments before exiting the cytosolic space.

Rotavirus

Image Credit: Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock.com

Studies have shown a broad range of responses to rotavirus infection – from a complete lack of symptoms to severe illness that can be associated with dehydration and circulatory collapse. Clinical features and stool characteristics are non-specific, which means that similar illnesses may be caused by other pathogens. As a result, confirmation of this diagnosis requires specific laboratory testing.

Clinical manifestations

Rotavirus gastroenteritis represents a mild to severe disease characterized by vomiting, low-grade fever, and watery diarrhea. The incubation period ranges from 18 to 48 hours with vomiting as the initial symptom, followed by diarrhea that lasts for approximately one week. Often there are fewer than 10 non-bloody (albeit mucusy) bowel movements per day.

In newborn children, rotaviral infection is most often asymptomatic or mild as a result of passive transplacental transfer of antibodies against the virus. In infants from 6 months to 2 years of age, symptoms tend to start with a sudden onset of severe vomiting, followed by 4-8 days of diarrhea with fever.

In adults, the disease typically manifests with malaise, nausea, headache, abdominal cramping, fever, and non-bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include muscle pain, joint stiffness, and excessive sweating. Severe symptoms can occur in the elderly and immunocompromised individuals.

Few singular features are used to distinguish those who have gastroenteritis caused by rotavirus versus those with other causes of gastroenteritis. The presence of all three symptoms (vomiting, fever, and diarrhea) is reported more commonly with rotavirus than with other gastrointestinal viruses.

The illness usually lasts for 3-8 days, but the virus can be shed in the stool for up to one month. Subsequent asymptomatic infections may occur due to immune protection. Some studies of children with rotavirus have shown that certain respiratory symptoms (such as runny nose and cough) can be coexistent with intestinal manifestations.

Potential complications

Dehydration is the most common complication and cause of death in rotaviral diarrhea. The amount of weight loss as a percentage of normal body weight provides the best estimate of the severity of dehydration. Clinical signs that include lethargy, dry and cool skin, absence of tears when crying, dry mouth, sunken eyes, as well as extreme thirst are usually not present until the child has lost at least 4% of their body weight.

A large number of clinical studies show that rotaviruses could be found at extraintestinal sites following infection. Children who are immunocompromised (due to congenital immunodeficiency or organ transplantation) may have evidence of abnormalities in multiple organ systems – particularly the kidney and liver. Acute pancreatitis as a complication of rotaviral gastroenteritis is also described in the literature.

Approximately 4% of patients with rotavirus may have complications related to the central nervous system, although causal relationship remains elusive. Patients with rotavirus gastroenteritis and benign or severe convulsions (or even encephalitis) have been found to have evidence of rotavirus in the cerebrospinal fluid using reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

References

Further Reading

Last Updated: Jul 18, 2023

Dr. Tomislav Meštrović

Written by

Dr. Tomislav Meštrović

Dr. Tomislav Meštrović is a medical doctor (MD) with a Ph.D. in biomedical and health sciences, specialist in the field of clinical microbiology, and an Assistant Professor at Croatia's youngest university - University North. In addition to his interest in clinical, research and lecturing activities, his immense passion for medical writing and scientific communication goes back to his student days. He enjoys contributing back to the community. In his spare time, Tomislav is a movie buff and an avid traveler.

Citations

Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

  • APA

    Meštrović, Tomislav. (2023, July 18). Rotavirus Symptoms. News-Medical. Retrieved on October 04, 2024 from https://www.news-medical.net/health/Rotavirus-Symptoms.aspx.

  • MLA

    Meštrović, Tomislav. "Rotavirus Symptoms". News-Medical. 04 October 2024. <https://www.news-medical.net/health/Rotavirus-Symptoms.aspx>.

  • Chicago

    Meštrović, Tomislav. "Rotavirus Symptoms". News-Medical. https://www.news-medical.net/health/Rotavirus-Symptoms.aspx. (accessed October 04, 2024).

  • Harvard

    Meštrović, Tomislav. 2023. Rotavirus Symptoms. News-Medical, viewed 04 October 2024, https://www.news-medical.net/health/Rotavirus-Symptoms.aspx.

Comments

  1. Rosario Blanco Rosario Blanco United States says:

    Being a 31 year old female who has came across this awful child illness virus is absurd they don't give much information about adults who end up with the rotavirus at all they don't give a percentage of adults that has came in contact with this virus for one who has no children at all in her home it appears I contacted this virus being in places where children touch things and has not washed their hands at all this is the worst virus I have ever had in my life for someone who works two jobs and not able to receive an income from neither job because of this tremendous disgusting virus is truly mentally tapped out if you know your children are sick and have this virus or has recovered from this virus make them wear gloves I ask.
    be sure they are really washing their hands with soap and water because it is not fair to adults at all to catch this virus which there is no vaccine for us to take because we're not infants we are full-blown adults who have to suffer the reason this virus makes it bad because nothing you take stops the pain the diarrhea the headache or your fever at least with other viruses you can take things and it'll help you recover quicker more research really needs to be done when adults come in contact with children viruses.

The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of News Medical.
Post a new comment
Post

While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for medical information you must always consult a medical professional before acting on any information provided.

Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles.

Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Read the full Terms & Conditions.

You might also like...
Rotavirus vaccine in NICUs does not lead to outbreaks, study shows