Rotavirus - the Silent Child Killer

BY PERPETUA ONUEGBU, 18 AUGUST 2013

Mrs Ebiere Amechi watched helplessly as her baby, Michael, a plump and lively boy, started vomiting and stooling. The woman has been assured that when babies entered their teething period; incessant stooling and vomiting are usually the precursors. Ebiere helplessly watched her child slipping away from her, as Michael continued to depreciate in weight each time he passed out stool. She later became frightened and sought the help of her next-door neighbour, Mama Kelechi. Mama Kelechi made Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) for Michael but when he was not showing any sign of improvement, Ebiere carried her baby and scampered to the hospital. "This is a case of Rotavirus madam; you are lucky you brought this child here on time," the doctor said. "What is Rotavirus?" a bewildered Ebiera asked. Diarrhoea is caused by a virus called Rotavirus and this causes gastroenteritis, whose symptoms include stooling and vomiting," the doctor replied.

Most people like Ebiere are ignorant of Rotavirus, which is the most common cause of severe diarrhea among infants and young children. MedicineNet.com, an online health publication, describes Rotavirus as a genus of double-stranded ribonucleic acid known as RNA virus in the Reoviridae family. Reoviridae is a family of viruses that can affect the gastrointestinal and respiratory tract. Viruses in the Reoviridae family have genomes consisting of segmented, double-stranded RNA. The name Reoviridae is derived from respiratory enteric orphan viruses.

The publication says that the term "orphan virus" means a virus that is not associated with any known disease. Even though viruses in the Reoviridae family have more recently been identified with various diseases, the original name is still used, it adds. Medical experts say that by the age of five, nearly every child in the world has been infected with Rotavirus at least once. However, with each infection, immunity develops, and subsequent infections are less severe; adults are rarely affected. There are five species of Rotavirus and they are classified as A, B, C, D, and E. Rotavirus A -- the most common species -- causes more than 90 per cent of infections in humans.

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