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Rica News. News on
Costa Rica continually updated.
Start
of
Rainy
Season
Increases
Diarrhea
and
Colds
What
does
it
mean
"I
am
feeling
under
the
weather"?
It
means
that
you
feel
as
though
something
has
been
bugging
at
you,
or
hurting
you
in a
direct
way.
The
weather,
in
this
case
the
arrival
of
rainy
season
is a
direct
cause
for
feeling
lousy.
According
to
experts
the
first
rains
along
with
a
number
of
specific
conditions
are
responsible
for
diarrhea
and
respiratory
ailments.
The
heads
of
the
Hospital
Nacional
de
Niños
(Children's
Hospital)
in
San
José
affirm
that
cases
of
respiratory
problems
and
diarrhea
increase
in
the
first
weeks
of
the
start
of
the
annual
rains.
Rotavirus
is
the
most
common
cause
of
severe
diarrhoea
among
infants
and
young
children,
representing
43%
of
all
cases
at
the
Niños
at
the
start
of
the
rainy
season.
Accordin
to
world
health
experts,
by
the
age
of
five,
nearly
every
child
in
the
world
has
been
infected
with
rotavirus
at
least
once.
The
virus
is
transmitted
by
the
faecal-oral
route.
It
infects
and
damages
the
cells
that
line
the
small
intestine
and
causes
gastroenteritis
(which
is
often
called
"stomach
flu"
despite
having
no
relation
to
influenza).
Rotavirus
gastroenteritis
is a
mild
to
severe
disease
characterised
by
vomiting,
watery
diarrhoea,
and
low-grade
fever.
Once
a
child
is
infected
by
the
virus,
there
is
an
incubation
period
of
about
two
days
before
symptoms
appear.
Symptoms
often
start
with
vomiting
followed
by
four
to
eight
days
of
profuse
diarrhoea.
Dehydration
is
more
common
in
rotavirus
infection
than
in
most
of
those
caused
by
bacterial
pathogens,
and
is
the
most
common
cause
of
death
related
to
rotavirus
infection.
Prevention
Because
improved
sanitation
does
not
decrease
the
prevalence
of
rotaviral
disease,
and
the
rate
of
hospitalisations
remains
high,
despite
the
use
of
oral
rehydrating
medicines,
the
primary
public
health
intervention
is
vaccination.
In
2009,
the
World
Health
Organization
(WHO)
recommended
that
rotavirus
vaccine
be
included
in
all
national
immunisation
programs.
