{"id":2517,"date":"2026-06-16T11:42:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T11:42:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/?page_id=2517"},"modified":"2026-06-16T13:30:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T13:30:41","slug":"rotavirus-background","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/rotavirus-background\/","title":{"rendered":"Disease background"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
<\/div>\"\"
Actor Portrayal<\/div><\/div><\/picture>

Rotavirus infection can have serious consequences1<\/sup><\/mark><\/h1>

<\/p>

<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Although rotavirus infection is usually self-limiting and not life-threatening, symptoms can range from mild diarrhea to severe diarrhea with vomiting and fever.1<\/sup><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

In more severe cases, these symptoms can result in dehydration with shock, or on rare occasions, even death.1<\/sup><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

Rotavirus infection can cause2,3<\/sup>:<\/strong><\/h2><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
\"Up\"Up<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Based on the most recent national survey4<\/sup>:<\/strong><\/h2><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"~1\"~1<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

GI, gastrointestinal.\u2028
National Immunization Survey-Child, United States, 2022-2024. Children born between 2021-2022 (N=27,392).<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

References<\/strong><\/h3><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
\n
    \n
  1. Baker JM, Tate JE, Gautam R, et al. Manual for the surveillance of vaccine-preventable diseases. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Department of Health and Human Services; last updated January 8, 2025. Accessed May 30, 2025. https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/surv-manual\/php\/table-of-contents\/ chapter-13-rotavirus.html CDC_AAref_Val=https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/vaccines\/pubs<\/span>\/surv-manual<\/span>\/chpt13-rotavirus.html<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Yen C, Cortese MM. Rotaviruses. In Long SS, Prober CG, Fischer M. Principles and Practice of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. Elsevier Inc. 2022:1141 -1144.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About Rotavirus. United States, last updated April 22, 2024. Accessed April 10, 2026.<\/span> https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/rotavirus\/about\/index.html<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Hill HA, Yankey D, Elam-Evans LD, et al. Vaccination Coverage by Age 24 Months Among Children Born in 2021 and 2022 \u2014 National Immunization Survey-Child, United States, 2022\u20132024. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep<\/em> 2026;75:146\u2013155. DOI: http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.15585\/mmwr.mm7511a2<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
    ExternalSitePopup<\/span><\/div>
    <\/i><\/a>

    By clicking on this link, you will be leaving Merck Vaccines.<\/h2><\/div>
    <\/div>
    Cancel<\/a><\/div>
    Proceed<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
    Cancel<\/a><\/div>
    Proceed<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Although rotavirus infection is usually self-limiting and not life-threatening, symptoms can range from mild diarrhea to severe diarrhea with vomiting and fever.1…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4249,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_trash_the_other_posts":false,"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"ga4_page_audience":[],"ga4_page_birn_id":[],"ga4_page_branding":[],"ga4_page_businessunit":[],"ga4_page_campaign":[],"ga4_page_content_purpose":[],"ga4_page_customer_journey_stage":[],"ga4_page_customer_specialty":[],"ga4_page_experience":[],"ga4_page_indication":[],"ga4_page_material_intent":[],"ga4_page_product":[],"ga4_page_region":[],"ga4_page_therapeuticarea":[],"class_list":["post-2517","page","type-page","status-publish"],"yoast_head":"\nInformation About Rotavirus Infection<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn more about rotavirus infection, including what symptoms it can cause and information from a recent national survey.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/rotavirus-background\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Information About Rotavirus Infection\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn more about rotavirus infection, including what symptoms it can cause and information from a recent national survey.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/rotavirus-background\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"rotateq-mv\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-16T13:30:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/168\/2026\/06\/fca33f93ed6a0a44efbb78d0ebaef7621e018616.png?w=1232\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Information About Rotavirus Infection","description":"Learn more about rotavirus infection, including what symptoms it can cause and information from a recent national survey.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/rotavirus-background\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Information About Rotavirus Infection","og_description":"Learn more about rotavirus infection, including what symptoms it can cause and information from a recent national survey.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/rotavirus-background\/","og_site_name":"rotateq-mv","article_modified_time":"2026-06-16T13:30:41+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/168\/2026\/06\/fca33f93ed6a0a44efbb78d0ebaef7621e018616.png?w=1232","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/rotavirus-background\/","url":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/rotavirus-background\/","name":"Information About Rotavirus Infection","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/rotavirus-background\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/rotavirus-background\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/168\/2026\/06\/fca33f93ed6a0a44efbb78d0ebaef7621e018616.png?w=1232","datePublished":"2026-06-16T11:42:23+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-16T13:30:41+00:00","description":"Learn more about rotavirus infection, including what symptoms it can cause and information from a recent national survey.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/rotavirus-background\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/rotavirus-background\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/rotavirus-background\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/168\/2026\/06\/fca33f93ed6a0a44efbb78d0ebaef7621e018616.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/168\/2026\/06\/fca33f93ed6a0a44efbb78d0ebaef7621e018616.png","width":2257,"height":485},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/rotavirus-background\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Disease background"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/","name":"rotateq-mv","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4249"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2517"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2517\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2582,"href":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2517\/revisions\/2582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ga4_page_audience","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ga4_page_audience?post=2517"},{"taxonomy":"ga4_page_birn_id","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ga4_page_birn_id?post=2517"},{"taxonomy":"ga4_page_branding","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ga4_page_branding?post=2517"},{"taxonomy":"ga4_page_businessunit","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ga4_page_businessunit?post=2517"},{"taxonomy":"ga4_page_campaign","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ga4_page_campaign?post=2517"},{"taxonomy":"ga4_page_content_purpose","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ga4_page_content_purpose?post=2517"},{"taxonomy":"ga4_page_customer_journey_stage","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ga4_page_customer_journey_stage?post=2517"},{"taxonomy":"ga4_page_customer_specialty","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ga4_page_customer_specialty?post=2517"},{"taxonomy":"ga4_page_experience","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ga4_page_experience?post=2517"},{"taxonomy":"ga4_page_indication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ga4_page_indication?post=2517"},{"taxonomy":"ga4_page_material_intent","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ga4_page_material_intent?post=2517"},{"taxonomy":"ga4_page_product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ga4_page_product?post=2517"},{"taxonomy":"ga4_page_region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ga4_page_region?post=2517"},{"taxonomy":"ga4_page_therapeuticarea","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merckvaccines.com\/rotateq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ga4_page_therapeuticarea?post=2517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}