Rotavirus

Key facts

  • Rotavirus causes diarrhoea (watery poo) and vomiting (gastroenteritis) that can make babies so sick they need to go to hospital for treatment.

  • The oral rotavirus vaccine is the best way to protect your child against rotavirus.

Last updated on 18 December 2024.

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It is recommended that you vaccinate your child against rotavirus at:


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What is rotavirus?

Rotavirus causes diarrhoea (watery poo) and vomiting (gastroenteritis) that can make babies so sick they need to go to hospital for treatment. Babies and children catch rotavirus when they put contaminated objects like their hands or toys into their mouths.1 A person with rotavirus can pass on the disease even before they know they are sick.

What will happen to my child if they catch rotavirus?

Usual symptoms

  • Rotavirus infection causes fever, diarrhoea and vomiting. It can be mild or severe.

Rare symptoms

  • Young children who have severe rotavirus can become extremely dehydrated and die.
     
What vaccine will protect my child against rotavirus?

The oral rotavirus vaccine is the best way to protect your child against rotavirus. 

When should my child be vaccinated?

It is recommended that children get the oral rotavirus vaccine at two months and four months.

It is important that children get all their vaccinations on time to ensure they have the  best possible protection against infectious diseases.

How does the rotavirus vaccine work?

The vaccine works by ‘training’ your child’s immune system to recognise and get rid of rotavirus infection. The vaccine contains a weakened (attenuated) live virus, which causes a harmless infection. This weakened live virus cannot give someone rotavirus itself. 

When your child’s immune system detects the weakened virus in the vaccine, it produces proteins called antibodies. These antibodies are like soldiers that recognise and remember both the weakened and the normal rotavirus. If your child is ever exposed to the real virus, their immune system will recognise it quickly and fight it off using the antibodies it created after vaccination.2

How effective is the vaccine?

In Australia, research has shown rotavirus vaccines to have an effectiveness of between 73 per cent and 88 per cent in preventing rotavirus infection.3,4 There has also been a 60–70 per cent decline in rotavirus hospitalisations in Australian children aged under 5 years since the introduction of rotavirus vaccines.5 

Will my child catch rotavirus from the vaccine?

The oral rotavirus vaccine does not usually cause rotavirus in healthy children. It is a live vaccine that contains weakened rotavirus. After vaccination, this weakened virus harmlessly multiplies in the gut and trains your child’s immune system to recognise the natural virus and fight the disease. 

Rarely, some babies who have the rotavirus vaccine can experience significant rotavirus-like symptoms, such as vomiting and diarrhoea, but they recover fully. Babies who catch rotavirus in the community are often much sicker and do not always recover.

Children with cancer or serious immune system diseases are sometimes not recommended to have the oral rotavirus vaccine as they may experience significant rotavirus-like symptoms. Your immunisation provider will screen for these conditions before giving your child their vaccine.

What are the common reactions to the vaccine?

About 3 per cent of babies who get a rotavirus vaccine get diarrhoea or vomit in the week afterwards. This usually only lasts a day or two.

Are there any rare/and or serious side effects to the vaccine?

Around 0.006 per cent of babies develop a blockage in their intestine (guts) called ‘intussusception’ due to their first or second dose of the rotavirus vaccine. Intussusception causes bouts of strong pain in a baby’s tummy, and they can look pale, weak and very sick. They may vomit. If your baby has symptoms like this, they need to be taken to hospital straight away. Babies who are treated for intussusception usually don’t have any long-term health problems.

If your child doesn’t seem to be getting better, or you are worried about them, you can get help from: 

  • your doctor 
  • your nearest emergency department 
  • or by calling Health Direct on 1800 022 222.
What impact has vaccination had on the prevalence of rotavirus?

Hospitalisation rates due to rotavirus have declined steeply after the rotavirus vaccine was added to the National Immunisation Program in 2007.6 

graph: What impact has vaccination had on the prevalence of rotavirus?

  1. Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI). Australian Immunisation Handbook, Australian Government Department of Health, Canberra, 2018, immunisationhandbook.health.gov.au
  2. Australian Academy of Science. The science of immunisation: questions and answers. Canberra, 2021. Available from: https://www.science.org.au/education/immunisation-climate-change-genetic-modification/science-immunisation   
  3. Fathima P, Snelling TL, Gibbs RA. Effectiveness of rotavirus vaccines in an Australian population: a case-control study. Vaccine 2019;37:6048-53. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.08.047 
  4. Maguire JE, Glasgow K, Glass K et al. Rotavirus epidemiology and monovalent rotavirus vaccine effectiveness in Australia: 2010–2017. Pediatrics 2019;144. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2019-1024 
  5. Dey A, Wang H, Menzies R et al. Changes in hospitalisations for acute gastroenteritis in Australia after the national rotavirus vaccination program. Medical Journal of Australia 2012;197:453-57. Available from: https://doi.org/10.5694/mja12.10062 
  6. Dey A, Wang H, Menzies R, Macartney K. Changes in Hospitalisations for Acute Gastroenteritis in Australia after the National Rotavirus Vaccination Program, Medical Journal of Australia Volume 197 Issue 8, 2012; 453-7