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| Rotavirus is very easy to catch. In the United States, nearly all children are infected with rotavirus by 5 years of age. |
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| Rotavirus Is Highly Contagious |
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Rotavirus infections occur mostly during the winter and early spring. |
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Rotavirus is usually spread through contaminated hands or objects, and can remain on surfaces for a long time. |
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Only certain disinfectants can kill rotavirus; many common soaps don't work. |
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| Symptoms of Rotavirus |
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Rotavirus can cause fever and multiple episodes of vomiting and diarrhea that can last from 3 to 9 days, and can quickly lead to dehydration (loss of body fluids). |
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Rotavirus symptoms can be mild, moderate, or severe. While many infected children may have few or no symptoms, it can be difficult to predict which children will have severe cases. |
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A severe case of rotavirus could send your child to the emergency room or your child may be hospitalized. |
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| Effect of Rotavirus |
| Every year in the United States, rotavirus is estimated to be responsible for up to 70,000 hospitalizations and approximately 250,000 emergency room visits among children younger than 5 years of age. |
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| You Can Help Protect Your Baby from Rotavirus |
| RotaTeq is a vaccine to help prevent rotavirus gastroenteritis in infants. It was shown to help protect infants against the most common types of rotavirus. |
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| Important Safety Information |
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| RotaTeq may not fully protect all children who get the vaccine. |
| RotaTeq should not be given to infants who are allergic to any part of the vaccine. |
| Your child should not get RotaTeq if he or she has Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disease (SCID). |
| The most common side effects reported after taking RotaTeq were diarrhea, vomiting, fever, runny nose, sore throat, wheezing or coughing, and ear infection. You can ask your health care professional for a more complete list of side effects. |
| Other reported side effects include: hives; Kawasaki disease (a serious condition that can affect the heart, symptoms may include fever, rash, red eyes, red mouth, swollen glands, swollen hands and feet, and if untreated, can be life threatening). |
| Call your child's doctor or go to the emergency department right away if, following any dose of RotaTeq, your child has vomiting, diarrhea, severe stomach pain, blood in their stool or change in bowel movements. These may be signs of a serious and life-threatening problem called intussusception. Intussusception can happen even when no vaccine has been given and the cause is usually unknown. Contact your doctor or go to the emergency department right away if your child has any symptoms of intussusception, even if it has been several weeks since the last vaccine dose. |
| There are some important things your doctor needs to know about your baby. Tell your doctor if your baby is sick with fever, diarrhea, or vomiting, or is not growing or gaining weight as expected. Tell your doctor if your baby or someone in regular close contact with your baby has a weakened immune system from a disease (like cancer, HIV/AIDS, or a blood disorder) or from medicine (such as steroids). Also tell your doctor if your baby has received a blood transfusion or blood products recently or if he or she was born with gastrointestinal problems, had a blockage, or had abdominal surgery. |
| You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit
www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088. |
| Please read the Patient
Product Information and discuss it with your doctor or health care professional. Also available is the physician Prescribing Information. |
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This site is intended only for residents of the United States, its territories, and Puerto Rico.
RotaTeq is a registered trademark of Merck & Co., Inc.
20951926(2)-02/10-RTQ |
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