Cases of highly contagious rotavirus increasing among children, Pittsburgh doctor says

Allegheny Health Network Chair of Pediatrics Dr. Joseph Aracri said cases of the highly contagious rotavirus among local children are increasing.

The uptick usually happens every year, but the increase is usually in February and March.

"It's been coming through the emergency room and urgent cares, and we're getting a lot of phone calls about it," Dr. Aracri said. "I don't think we're seeing much more than we usually do; we're just seeing it later in the season."

It's similar to what's happening nationally. According to wastewater data from Stanford and Emory universities, activity of the disease has spiked 40% since February, with numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing there are more cases now than at the same time last year.

"What this virus does is it gives you 24 to 48 hours of vomiting, and then anywhere between four days to two weeks of diarrhea," Dr. Aracri said.

Sometimes children can also have a low-grade fever, and the most common symptom is dehydration.

"Becoming dull or listless, no energy, the inside of your mouth is dry, unable to cry tears, and not urinating in a 12-hour period, and not being able to sweat," Dr. Aracri said.

Those are signs, he said, that you should call your provider and get help, though he said symptoms typically clear up with water and electrolytes.

"The one thing you don't want to do is you want to make sure that they don't chug," Dr. Aracri said.

Those coming in are children of all ages, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, so he doesn't attribute the increase in cases to vaccine hesitancy, at least right now. Nonetheless, he worries about declining vaccination rates. 

"This vaccine decreases the severity in babies, but we have treatments, and we're able to hydrate. I'm more concerned about things like pertussis or measles that can cause severe damage and even death in kids," Dr. Aracri said.

As for precautions, Dr. Aracri said it's most important to thoroughly wash your hands. It can also live on surfaces for a long time, so make sure to wipe them down, and don't touch your face or share items with others.