A RALLY AGAINST ROTAVIRUS
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Your toddler's simple diarrhoea could be a sign of something far more serious
Mothers, said popular actress Suwanan “Kob” Punnakun, “can’t take any risks when it comes to their child’s health”. She was speaking at a recent seminar at Smitivej Srinakarin Hospital about the rotavirus vaccine that’s given orally to babies to protect them from the virus.
Infants as young as four months can thus be guarded against the severe diarrhoea that the virus causes between six months and two years of age.
Neo-natologist Hathaitip Paradeevisit pointed out that rotavirus also affects older children at around five years, with symptoms also including vomiting and fever leading to dehydration.
“This can delay the baby’s overall physical development, and in the most serious cases even take their life,” she said.
Rotavirus afflicts 125 million youngsters a year around the world and causes 600,000 deaths. In Thailand in 2009, some 40,000 children were infected. It accounted for almost 43 per cent of the children under five who were hospitalised with diarrhoea. One out of every 10 babies catches the virus up to five times.
“Since rotavirus is found everywhere and is transmitted through contaminated objects including toys, toddlers between one and two years of age are at the highest risk, because they tend to put their hands in their mouths,” Dr Hathaitip said.
“And the younger they are, the more life-threatening the infection.”
She cited a 2008 study on enteric infections that found that babies stricken by rotavirus tend to be more than eight centimetres shorter than they should be by age seven. Also, infants under two years who suffer repeatedly from diarrhoea have more difficulty learning, with their IQ as much as 10 points lower than normal.
“Since diarrhoea can lead to malnutrition, poorer health overall and a slower growth rate, their weight might increase very little,” Hathaitip said.
Parents, she said, should consider the possibility of rotavirus infection if a child is vomiting or has especially watery diarrhoea.
“The symptoms often look like those of something else, like a common cold. There might be low-grade fever, vomiting and a loss of appetite at first. But once you see watery diarrhoea in the diaper, you must take the child to the doctor immediately.”
Suwanan – whose first child Punnada (Nada) is only 10 month old, said she couldn’t bear the thought of her daughter being ill. “I have never missed an appointment with her doctor,” she told other seminar attendees.
“I always wish that if anything has to happen, it happens to me rather than Nada. As a mother, I think having good health is the most important thing. It is the greatest gift a mother can give her child.”
Two other guest speakers agreed – Apichaya Kraireuk, mother of nine-month-old Khontee, and Jaruwan Chotithewan, whose daughter Nattaphak is nearly two years.
Apichaya admitted she fretted while breastfeeding because she wasn’t producing much milk. “I was afraid my baby wouldn’t get enough immunity protection. So I’ve always consulted the doctor, through almost every step of his development.”
Jaruwan noted that vaccinations are important, but so is basic hygiene. “A mother should teach her child to take care of herself by simply wash hands before every meal,” she advised. “It’s impossible to be with the child all the time, so she should have the habit of discipline.”
Despite rotavirus affecting people of all ages, no specific cure has been found, so sufferers are treated according to their varying symptoms. Vaccinations are given only to children six months and under because, after that, the body’s immune system usually guards against the many strains of rotavirus.
Nevertheless, in Thailand the rotavirus vaccination is still regarded as “alternative” medicine, having only been introduced here five years ago. As a result, it costs around Bt10,000.
However, the Health Ministry has had some success in persuading provincial authorities to make the vaccinations compulsory.
