rotavirus

[roh-tuh-vahy-ruhs]

noun

plural

rotaviruses 

1. a double-stranded RNA virus of the genus Rotavirus, family Reoviridae, that is a major cause of infant diarrhea.

rotavirus

/ ˈrəʊtəˌvaɪrəs /

noun

1. any member of a genus of viruses that cause worldwide endemic infections. They occur in birds and mammals, cause diarrhoea in children, and are usually transmitted in food prepared with unwashed hands

Word History and Origins

Origin of rotavirus¹

1974; < Latin rota wheel + virus

Example Sentences

Dr. Paul Offit, a co-inventor of a rotavirus vaccine and director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, for years has sparred with Kennedy over vaccines.

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A child who has rotavirus once will have antibodies that offer protection against future infections.

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For example, the first rotavirus vaccine was withdrawn in 1999 when researchers detected an increased risk of intussusception, a rare type of bowel obstruction, for children who received the vaccine.

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The rotavirus vaccine, for example, is an unmitigated success, but it can lead to intussusception — a life-threatening condition in which the intestine folds in on itself — in about 0.02 percent of children who are vaccinated.

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"Robert F Kennedy Junior called me and he said that he needed my help," says the scientist, whose vaccine against rotavirus is estimated to save some two thousand lives a day in the developing world.

Read more on BBC