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ROTAVIRUS
Find most of the information you need in these resources
Always refer to your local signed PGD's in practice, and remember the Green Book takes priority over the SPmC - and sometimes WHO takes priority over the Green Book! They don't always say the same!
Recent Updates & News
19th March 2026: Decided it was time for a rotavirus blog: Rotarix: Starter or Dessert?
17th Feb 2026: Link to training slideset updated in line with the presentation changes from spring 2026
5th Feb 2026: I jinxed it. I mused that it's only rotavirus that hasn't changed in some way recently on the childhood programme. Then the Rotavirus vaccination programme: information for healthcare practitioners: got updated to let us know the packaging is changing. Only a small change. No panic needed.
16th June 2025: Rotavirus PGD reviewed and amended to update governance requirements for sections 2 and 7, add pharmacy technicians in Section 3, add dietitians, podiatrists, and occupational therapists, update expert panel, include sensitivity to phenylalanine statement in the cautions section, add excipients with known effects, phenylalanine, glucose and sucrose in the formulation section, update disposal guidance, update written information to include accessible information.
MAY 2024 Rotavirus training slide sets updated
SEPT 2021 Rotavirus immunisation programme: changes from September 2021 letter. Guidance on rotavirus vaccination at 8 weeks old, in relation to the introduction of newborn screening for Severe Combined Immunodeficiency. 2026
Bits and bobs to casually drop into conversation
According to the Vaccine Knowledge Project, did you know....
Rotavirus is a viral infection that commonly leads to severe diarrhoea and vomiting in young children. Rotavirus is in fact, the most common cause of diarrhoea worldwide in children under 1! Before a vaccine was introduced, it affected almost every child in the world by the age of five and around 12,700 children a year were admitted to hospital.
It is highly infectious and can cause death through severe dehydration. However, in the UK, where there is good medical care, very few children have died from rotavirus infection.
In the developing world, children are much more at risk. The World Health Organization estimated that rotavirus infections caused between 475,000 and 580,000 deaths worldwide in 2004 before vaccines were developed, mainly in developing countries.
Rotavirus infection in the UK is seasonal. Before a vaccine was introduced there was usually a peak in cases between January and March
