NEW YORK \u2014 A highly contagious virus that causes severe vomiting and diarrhea in young children is circulating at elevated levels nationwide, including in New York, health officials warn.<\/p>\n
Infants and toddlers are at the highest risk of developing rotavirus, which can result in dangerous dehydration, sometimes requiring hospitalization. Symptoms can include frequent vomiting, watery diarrhea and fever, and may last several days or a week. <\/p>\n
Rates of rotavirus have been steadily increasing since January<\/a>, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. In the Northeast, 9.6 percent of tests came back positive in the week ending Apr. 11, up from 3.23 percent just a week earlier. In the first full week of the year, ending Jan. 10, just 0.75 percent of tests came back positive. Exactly a month ago, on Mar. 21, that positivity rate was at 3.68 percent. <\/p>\n Data from Wastewater Scan<\/a>, a cooperative effort between Stanford University and Emory University, shows rotavirus rates are increasing the highest in the Midwest and the West.<\/p>\n In New York, wastewater scans from locations in Ithaca and Oswego show a high concentration of rotavirus over the last 21 days, while the Oswego treatment plant shows an upward trend in the concentration. While downstate residents might try to take solace in the fact that Ithaca and Oswego are farther upstate, results from places closer to New York City and Long Island don\u2019t look much better: Wastewater scans in Newark, NJ and Stamford, CT also showed high concentrations of rotavirus.<\/p>\n Health experts say vaccination remains the most effective protection. The CDC estimates rotavirus vaccines are 85 percent to 98 percent effective at preventing severe illness and hospitalization in infants. Before rotavirus vaccines<\/a> became available about 20 years ago, severe illnesses accounted for around 200,000 emergency room visits, up to 70,000 hospitalizations, and dozens of deaths every year, according to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases<\/a>.<\/p>\n Still, vaccination rates have slipped in recent years, according to the CDC. About 74 percent of U.S. children are vaccinated against rotavirus by 8 months of age, a decline that concerns public health officials as the virus spreads.<\/p>\n The rise in cases comes amid broader debates over vaccine policy and recommendations. Earlier this year, federal health officials removed the rotavirus vaccine from the routine childhood immunization schedule, a move that drew criticism from pediatricians and public health experts who fear it could further reduce vaccination rates.<\/p>\n Rotavirus spreads<\/a> very easily, especially among young children. It usually passes from person to person when tiny amounts of stool from an infected person get into someone else\u2019s mouth \u2014 often because hands, toys, surfaces, food or water are contaminated.<\/p>\n