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. 1979 May;54(5):339–346. doi: 10.1136/adc.54.5.339

A year's experience of the rotavirus syndrome and its association with respiratory illness.

H M Lewis, J V Parry, H A Davies, R P Parry, A Mott, R R Dourmashkin, P J Sanderson, D A Tyrrell, H B Valman
PMCID: PMC1545549  PMID: 224824

Abstract

In a hospital study rotavirus was identified in 51% of 152 children with diarrhoea. These patients showed a clinical pattern that was distinct from patients in whom the diarrhoea was associated with bacteria, other viruses, or no pathogens. A respiratory illness was described in 66% of rotavirus patients and usually preceded the gastrointestinal symptoms. Vomiting lasted between one and 3 days and was curtailed by substituting the normal diet with clear fluids. Watery diarrhoes continued for 4 or 5 days, even when rehydration was by the intravenous rather than the oral route. Prolonged diarrhoea was rare. Most children infected with rotavirus were under 2 years of age, but dehydration was most severe in infants aged between 12 and 18 months. A clinician can thus recognise the rotavirus syndrome and expect spontaneous recovery if adequate rehydration is maintained for a critical few days.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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