CDC: Rotavirus Vaccine Cuts Kids' Hospitalization Rates In US

[HuckleB]

http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/story/2011-09-22/Rotavirus-vaccine-cuts-kids-hospitalization-rates/50514052/1

"Since the 2006 introduction of routine inoculation against rotavirus -- a leading cause of diarrhea in infants and young children -- almost 65,000 fewer American children have been hospitalized and about $278 million in healthcare costs have been saved, according to new research.

The vaccine targets rotavirus, a common and easily transmitted pathogen. The new study, from a team at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), found that there were 89 percent fewer rotavirus-specific hospitalizations in children who had gotten the vaccine compared to unvaccinated children.

"Diarrhea causes by rotavirus is one of the most common illnesses in children. It's usually self-limited and treated at home, but before the vaccine was introduced, the virus was responsible for about 200,000 emergency room visits and 400,000 physician office visits a year," noted the study's senior author, Dr. Umesh Parashar, a medical epidemiologist and team leader of the viral gastroenteritis team at the CDC in Atlanta.

Before routine rotavirus inoculations in 2006, the virus was associated with 20 to 60 deaths a year in children under 5 in the United States -- although that figure was much higher in developing countries. "In the U.S., with good access to healthcare, we can prevent the worse outcomes from diarrheal illness. Globally, there are about a half a million deaths caused by this pathogen," Parashar added.

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FYI.

[xchrom]

1. Recommend

[abelenkpe]

2. My son born in 2004 didn't recieve this vaccine

and was hospitalized twice before reaching age four. He was a preemie and has always been under weight so anytime he's not eating is a big deal. His sister born in 2006 got the vaccine and is super healthy. The first time she ever threw up was this summer when she caught a tummy flu.

[phantom power]

3. recommend

[HuckleB]

4. Thanks for the recs. Those who have unrecced this good health news, let us know why.

[Ian David]

5. Because they want children to die for the greater glory of Wakefield. n/t

[HuckleB]

7. That explanation is as worthy as any other, considering the number of unrecs I've noted.

It's quite scary. How is unreccing and opposing a life-saving vaccine different than opposing the death penalty, for example?

BTW, I am opposed to the death penalty.

[laconicsax]

6. This is fantastic news!

Recommend!

[HuckleB]

8. .

:kick: