Almost 100 cases of rotavirus registered last year

Almost 100 positive cases of rotavirus, which causes digestive problems and diarrhoea in young children, were registered last year.

Statistics from St Luke's Hospital's virology unit show that a total of 519 tests were carried out by the unit, 94 of which proved positive. The results of two tests last month are still pending.

The greatest number of positive results - 22 - were registered last August, followed by 17 in July and 11 in both May and September. Nine positive cases were registered in April, seven in June, six in November, four in March, three in December and two in both February and October. No cases were registered in January.

The virus was thrown into the public domain last week when a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine said a vaccine was highly effective.

The researchers had found that the new vaccine protected 85 per cent of infants from severe rotavirus and reached a 100 per cent efficacy against more severe rotavirus episodes.

Contacted by the Times, Simon Attard Montalto, chairman of St Luke's Hospital's paediatrics department, said that most children will get the virus at some point in their lives, adding that it is usually not serious.

He explained that in the majority of cases the children will spend about three days suffering from gastroenteritis, with complications including dehydration.

Rotavirus is a problem in developing countries, with experts believing there is one death for every 500 cases.

Mortality is low in Europe, with one death for every 55,000 cases. Dr Attard Montalto said he was not aware of any deaths in Malta, although some children were admitted to hospital suffering from serious dehydration.

Questioned about the vaccine featured in the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr Attard Montalto said this was effective and did not seem to have any complications.

The vaccine is expected to be available in Malta next year and Dr Attard Montalto said there was no objection to it being available on the market if this was not available publicly.

"We believe that prevention is always better than cure, and most vaccines are effective and with very little side effects," he said, adding that while people tend to take any medication prescribed to them, some make a fuss when it comes to taking a vaccine that could well prevent an illness.