Since the beginning of autumn and winter, there is nothing that mothers ask more about than their babies’ diarrhea, such as Xiao Bao (a pseudonym), who has been having diarrhea for the last few days. At first, it was accompanied by low fever and vomiting. The baby’s mother gave her baby cephalosporin and took Similac, but to no avail. The doctor said that it was rotavirus enteritis. Since it is an enteritis, she has been eating cephalosporin for several days, but why is it not effective? The mother was very worried and puzzled. What is pediatric autumn diarrhea? Rotavirus enteritis, also known as autumn diarrhea, is an acute inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract caused by rotavirus infection. It is mainly seen in the fall and winter, especially around November every year. Infants and young children aged 6 months to 24 months are susceptible to rotavirus infection. What are the signs of rotavirus enteritis? Generally, before the onset of the disease, the baby will show signs of upper respiratory tract infection: such as low fever, red throat, and sometimes vomiting; because there is no obvious sign of bacterial infection poisoning, it is often easily misdiagnosed as a gastrointestinal cold. Subsequently, the symptoms will be further obvious: the baby will have diarrhea, ranging from a dozen to dozens of times a day, and the stool will be in the shape of yellow dilute watery stool or egg flower-like stool, with a small amount of mucus and occasionally a small amount of white blood cells, without much fishy smell and pus and blood. In younger infants, dehydration, electrolyte disorders and metabolic acidosis may occur. Is rotavirus infectious? The incubation period of rotavirus infection is 1-3 days and lasts 4-8 days after the onset of the disease, with a few cases lasting longer. How is rotavirus transmitted? Rotavirus is mainly transmitted through the digestive tract. For example, if a baby’s hands, toys or food are contaminated with rotavirus, but the baby eats it through his or her mouth, he or she will be infected – what we often call fecal-oral transmission. Other times, rotavirus is suspended in a gaseous medium in the form of aerosols and causes disease through the baby’s respiratory tract. How should rotavirus be detected? Rotavirus can be detected in the stool of babies. It has been reported abroad that there are 1012 rotaviruses in 1 gram of stool. However, it is important to emphasize that the stool must be fresh and it is usually best to have the stool tested within 2 hours. Parents can wrap their baby’s stool in clean plastic wrap and send it for testing in a timely manner. When I was in the clinic, I often saw parents bring in their baby’s stool from the first night for testing, but by this time the rotavirus was dead and decomposing, so it could not be tested. How serious is rotavirus enteritis? Foreign reports indicate that rotavirus infection kills more than 500,000 children under the age of 5 each year worldwide, mainly in underdeveloped countries. It has become the second leading killer after pneumonia in the spectrum of diseases that cause pediatric deaths. In addition, because rotavirus can attack multiple organs, some children are also prone to heart muscle damage, cramps, rotavirus encephalitis or meningitis. However, parents are advised not to worry too much, as most infants can recover from this disease as long as they replenish water and electrolytes and correct the symptoms of dehydration. How to treat rotavirus enteritis? Some parents are used to giving their babies antibiotics as soon as they hear the word infection. In fact, if the infection is viral and not bacterial, there is no need for antibiotics. For rotavirus enteritis, symptomatic treatment and a light diet are usually sufficient. You can take oral rehydration salts, Similac to stop diarrhea, probiotics to regulate the intestinal tract, and sometimes lactose-free milk powder or lactase supplementation, the baby’s symptoms will improve in about 1 week. It is important to be alert to the fact that if the baby is not in good spirits, appears depressed, dry skin, little urine, sunken fontanelle, cold hands and feet, etc., then it may be moderately to severely dehydrated, and needs to quickly go to the hospital for infusion, timely replenishment of water and electrolytes to correct acid-base metabolism disorders to prevent further deterioration of the disease. How to prevent rotavirus enteritis? 1, rotavirus infected people should pay attention to isolation, do not throw out the feces to prevent further infection; 2, most of this disease from the mouth, coupled with the children’s hand mouth action more, touching around, hands easily put in the mouth, so parents should urge children and their own daily diligent hand washing, pay attention to hygiene. 3, there are rotavirus vaccine can prevent rotavirus enteritis. Some children are more serious the first time they get this disease, but the second time is milder due to a certain amount of immunity.