In the United States, before initiation of  the rotavirus vaccination programme, rotavirus caused about 2.7 million cases of severe gastroenteritis in children, almost 60,000 hospitalisations, and around 37 deaths each year. Public health campaigns to combat rotavirus focus on providing oral rehydration therapy for infected children and vaccination to prevent the disease. The incidence and severity of rotavirus infections has declined significantly in countries that have added rotavirus vaccine to their routine childhood immunisation policies. Signs and symptoms
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 profuse diarrhoea after at least four days. 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.Rotavirus A infections can occur throughout life: the first usually produces symptoms, but subsequent infections are typically mild or asymptomatic, as the immune system provides some protection. : 106–124  Consequently, symptomatic infection rates are highest in children under two years of age and decrease progressively towards 45 years of age. Infection in newborn children, although common, is often associated with mild or asymptomatic disease; the most severe symptoms tend to occur in children six months to two years of age, the elderly, and those with  compromised or absent immune system functions.
Two rotavirus vaccines against Rotavirus A infection are safe and effective in children: Rotarix by GlaxoSmithKline and RotaTeq by Merck. Both are taken orally and contain attenuated live virus.Rotavirus vaccines are licensed in more than 100 countries, but only 17 countries have introduced routine rotavirus vaccination. Following the introduction of routine rotavirus vaccination in the US in 2006, the health burden of rotavirus gastroenteritis "rapidly and dramatically reduced" despite lower coverage levels compared to other routine infant immunizations. Clinical trials of the Rotarix  rotavirus vaccine in South Africa and Malawi, found that the vaccine significantly reduced severe diarrhoea episodes caused by rotavirus, and that the infection was preventable by vaccination. A 2019 Cochrane systematic review of 55 clinical trials that included 216,480 participants concluded RV1 (Rotarix), RV5 (RotaTeq), and Rotavac  and  are effective vaccines. Additional rotavirus vaccines are under development. The World Health Organization(WHO) recommends that rotavirus vaccine be included in all national immunisation programmes. The incidence and severity of rotavirus infections has declined significantly in countries that have acted on this recommendation.The Rotavirus Vaccine Program is a collaboration between PATH, the  (WHO), and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and is funded by the GAVI Alliance. The Program aims to reduce child morbidity and mortality from diarrhoeal disease by making a vaccine against rotavirus available for use in developing countries. Treatment
Treatment of acute rotavirus infection is nonspecific and involves management of symptoms and, most importantly, maintenance of hydration. If untreated, children can die from the resulting severe dehydration.