In developing countries, where medical care is least available and malnutrition is most prevalent, rotavirus infection is estimated to cause 1 million deaths each year. Rotavirus is most often transmitted from person to person, through the fecal-oral route. The infective dose in a child can be very small. Contaminated food or water can be a source of infection and there is some airborne transport possible. Rotavirus can be detected with a lab test the day before diarrhea starts in half of all infected children and among some children for up to a week after symptoms end.
Many children shed rotavirus and never become ill.
Oral rehydration therapy for children who lose a large amount of fluid. Hospitalization and treatment with intravenous fluids may be required for severe dehydration. For adults, good hydration is also important, particularly among the elderly. Rotavirus outbreaks at daycare centers and in pediatric sections of hospitals are common. Hands that have been contaminated directly or from soiled surfaces may be the most important means by which enteric viruses such as rotavirus are transmitted.