The incubation period of rotavirus infection

Rotavirus infection is also called intestinal or gastric flu, because the symptoms include abdominal syndrome and upper respiratory tract infection. Most often, the infection is diagnosed in children aged 7-12 months and people with immunodeficiency.

The incubation period of rotavirus infection can be quite long, in addition, the disease can have a prodromal period, which postpones the time of setting the right diagnosis and increases the duration of infectiousness of the patient.

How the virus spreads

The causative agents of the disease are viruses from the family Reoviridae, which are similar in antigenic composition. The virus is divided into 6 serological groups. As a rule, the disease causes a virus from group A, which, in turn, is divided into three subgroups and 9 serovars. Determination of electrophoretics is important when analyzing the epidemic situation.

The virus is relatively resistant to the environment. Since it does not contain lipids, it is resistant to ether, detergents, chloroform. Do not destroy the virus and using ultrasound. The rotavirus infection is transmitted by the fecal-oral route, that is, the infected person is the source of the virus.

The causative agent is transmitted by a contact-household way (through common utensils, toys, towels, infected hands of the adult's virus). On objects of the external environment the virus is able to maintain pathogenicity up to one month. Not the last value in the spread of the virus has an aqueous and nutritional factor, since the pathogen brought into the factory can withstand low temperatures.

Most often, infection occurs in dairy products. Since the viral agent is found in the nasopharyngeal mucus of patients, and also because of the ease of spreading infection in children's groups, it is assumed that the disease can be transmitted by airborne droplets.

Most often an outbreak is registered in the autumn-winter period, approximately at the same time as the flu epidemic. The risk group includes children of the first years of life, children who are on artificial feeding or have immunodeficiency, or suffer from chronic systemic pathologies (including allergies), adults who come in contact with sick children, elderly people with weak immunity.

Characteristic of the period

The virus, hitting the human body, affects the cells of the mucous membrane of the small intestine and smooths the villi. Enzymes involved in the digestion process only increase the activity of the virus. The development of specific enzymes and the deterioration of the secretory function of the intestinal mucosa causes profuse diarrhea, which leads to rapid dehydration of the body, since a large number of electrolytes and water enter the lumen of the intestine.

There is rotavirus infection:

• obstruction of nasal breathing;
• cough;
• a sore throat;
• abdominal pain;
• dyspeptic manifestations;
• cephalgia;
• heat.

The clinic for rotavirus includes an intoxication syndrome, symptoms of gastroenteritis and signs of acute respiratory infection

Diarrhea with rotavirus infection can reach up to 20 times a day. Stools are watery, foamy, yellow or green-yellow in color. With diffuse diarrhea, fluid is quickly eliminated from the body and electrolyte balance changes, leading to dehydration, which is especially dangerous for young children.

With severe disease on the background of dehydration, cardiovascular failure develops, which in the absence of therapy can lead to death. Rotavirus infection in adults usually occurs in mild form, in most cases it is not even diagnosed, because the patient does not seek medical help. Among the symptoms, rarely vomiting occurs, and stool disorder is regarded as indigestion.

How many days the patient is an infectious agent

From the moment the virus enters the body before the onset of clinical symptoms, it usually takes 1-2 days in most cases, but the incubation period can last from 12 hours to 7 days. During the incubation period, when the virus multiplies rapidly in the body, but it is not enough to cause symptoms, the person already releases rotavirus with feces.

An acute period, in which the clinical symptoms are most pronounced, lasts 3-7 days. The recovery period lasts approximately 4-5 days. The duration of the incubation period depends on several factors:

• susceptibility to the virus;
• the presence of chronic diseases;
• power supply;
• the state of the body's defense system.

The most dangerous is the patient, whose clinical symptoms are observed 3-5 days, because it is during this period with the feces that the most virus is allocated (10 billion virus particles per gram of feces). The virus with feces is released on average within 7-8 days after the onset of symptoms, but there is a possibility of infection and within 21 days.

Like for other intestinal infections, rotavirus is characterized by an acute onset, but sometimes within two days the symptoms resemble a respiratory disease. In the prodromal period, the patient is troubled by weakness, headache, decreased appetite, nasal congestion, a slight cough, a sore throat, and abdominal discomfort.

In the absence of diarrhea, the disease is very similar to ARVI and the patient may receive incomplete treatment, and non-observance of personal hygiene rules increases the focus of infection. After how much the disease manifests in a child in contact with the carrier of the virus, and whether at all, depends on the level of the child's hygiene skills and the sanitary conditions in which he lives.

Can I get sick again?

After recovery, unstable immunity is formed, which gradually weakens, hence, a possible re-infection with rotavirus infection. Not all people are susceptible to rotavirus. Newborns receive immunoglobulins from the mother through the placenta, as well as breast milk.

The presence of antibodies is not a guarantee that a person will not get sick, as the acquired immunity is lost or another serovar of the pathogen becomes infected

Children 6-24 months old and older are more susceptible to rotavirus. Antibodies to the causative agent is found in 9 children out of 10 at the age of 3-4 years and almost in all adults, which indicates the transferred disease.

Activities during the incubation period

The diagnosis of rotavirus infection is based on the detection of a pathogen in feces. Diagnosis is based on the detection of antigens in feces taken for analysis within the first five days after the onset of symptoms. Laboratory studies such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), passive hemagglutination reaction (RPGA), complement binding reaction, immunofluorescence and others are carried out.

The general analysis of the blood shows only the presence of an inflammatory process in the body, but it can also be judged on recovery. Specific therapy for the treatment of rotavirus infection has not been developed. Only symptomatic treatment is carried out, which is aimed at eliminating the main symptoms of the disease.

To prevent infection with an infection, anti-epidemiological measures are necessary. The patient is hospitalized in an infectious hospital.

This is necessary in the following cases: severe form of the pathological condition, moderate form in children of the first years of life and in weakened elderly people, the presence of concomitant diseases, aggravating the course of the disease.

The list also includes the threat of spreading the infection at the place of residence and place of work (concerns employees of food enterprises). The patient is discharged only after complete disappearance of the manifestations, which is confirmed by a negative result of the laboratory study of stool.

If the person who has been ill continues to give out rotavirus with feces, then he is on a regular basis for a month under observation, after which he again gives an analysis for revealing the pathogen. If the person who has been ill continues to give out rotavirus with feces, then he is on a regular basis for a month under observation, after which he again gives an analysis for revealing the pathogen.

Prevention measures include adherence to hygienic rules, prolonged breastfeeding, keeping the hands of adults caring for children clean, increased safety requirements for food intended for children, drinking only boiled water. Rotaviruses lose their infectious activity when interacting with phenolic compounds, 4-10% formaldehyde solution, 95% ethyl alcohol. The virus is inactivated by boiling.

Epidemiological significance is a person who carries the infection in a mild form or are virus carriers. In the absence of proper hygiene, they spread the pathogen themselves without suspecting it. Most often, the virus carriers are children older than 18 months and adults.

Against rotavirus infection developed a live vaccine

With impaired immunity, such patients slowly recover, often the disease becomes chronic, and they release rotavirus for a long time. Current and final disinfection is performed to prevent rotavirus infection. If the patient is treated at home, the following sanitary and epidemiological measures are carried out:

• the patient is isolated (he is given a separate room or fences part of the room);
• daily wet cleaning is done;
• the room is ventilated at least twice a day;
• contact with healthy people is forbidden;
• the number of subjects with which the patient contacts is limited;
• the rules of personal hygiene are carefully observed (both for the patient and for the person caring for him);
• household items with which the patient is in contact, stored separately;
• apply various methods of disinfection (using household chemicals (soda, soap), the laundry is boiled and ironed).

If the patient was in contact with other people, then the circle of his communication for the last week is established. In children's preschool institutions, medical supervision is conducted twice a day (children are examined, the temperature is measured, followed by a chair). If there are no clinical manifestations, the children from the collective are not isolated.

Regime-restrictive measures are carried out in the DDU within 7 days after isolation of the patient (quarantine is declared). The laboratory examination for rotavirus of children in contact with the patient is carried out only if several patients with similar symptoms have been identified.

Thus, if there is a person infected with rotavirus infection in a family or a community, then if the rules of personal hygiene are not respected, he can become the carrier of the pathogen. The patient presents a danger within 7 days after the onset of clinical symptoms. After isolating the patient, it is necessary to monitor the condition of people in contact with him for a week.

The incubation period lasts up to 7 days, but more often when infected, the symptoms appear after 1-2 days. To avoid contamination, it is necessary to carry out anti-epidemiological measures, which include thorough hand washing, boiling of children's dishes, laundry washing at elevated temperature (from 80 ° C), separate dishes, wet cleaning with disinfectants.