How can rotavirus disease be prevented?
While it is important that you wash your child’s hands, better hygiene and sanitation have not significantly reduced rotavirus disease. A new, recently licensed vaccine is the best way to protect your child against rotavirus disease. The new vaccine, RotaTeq®, marketed by Merck and Company, is a live, oral, vaccine for preventing rotavirus disease, and is the only vaccine approved in the U.S. that can help protect against rotavirus. Rotavirus vaccine will not prevent diarrhea or vomiting causes by other viruses but it is very effective against rotavirus disease. Studies indicate the vaccine will prevent about 74 percent of all rotavirus cases, about 98 percent of severe cases, and about 96 percent of hospitalizations due to rotavirus.
