Rotavirus most common in young children

The majority of stomach infections caused by rotavirus occur in children younger than 2, according to European research.

Presenting their findings at the 26th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, investigators examined 5,000 children younger than 5 treated for stomach infections in Germany, Italy, Poland, and other European countries.

They found that rotavirus caused 10% of episodes. Of this percentage, children younger than 2 accounted for more than two thirds of cases, while infants younger than 1 accounted for almost a third of cases.

In addition, more than one third of all rotavirus cases were severe, and nearly one fifth of children with rotavirus spread the disease to children younger than 5 who were close to them.