This family is ubiquitous in nature - infecting invertebrates, vertebrates and plants. The various genera are serologically unrelated. To view a negatively-stained electron micrograph of reovirus particles, click here . To view a negatively-stained electron micrograph of Rotavirus particles, click here . Rotavirus particles have the appearance of a wheel with spokes radiating out from the inner capsid.
Orbivirus particles appear smooth.
The mechanism responsible for segregation of the various genome segments into developing particles is not known. The majority of adults have Abs. Because of the magnitude of disease associated with rotavirus infections and because public health interventions to provide clean water and improved sanitation are unlikely to decrease the incidence of disease, vaccines are being developed as the first strategy for prevention. The first rotavirus vaccine, a live oral tetravalent vaccine derived from a rotavirus isolated from a rhesus monkey is expected be licensed in the United States and Europe in 1998. Emerging Rotavirus Vaccines .