Rotavirus is a common cause of infectious diarrhea worldwide. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports most people in the United States contract their first rotavirus infection by age 2. Repeat infections can occur into adulthood. The symptoms of repeat infections in adults are typically mild. Some adults experience no recognizable symptoms with rotavirus reinfection. People with a weakened immune system, including those living with HIV disease and the elderly, have an increased likelihood of severe symptoms associated with rotavirus infection.
Low-Grade Fever and Malaise
Low-grade fever may occur during the first few days of a rotavirus-induced diarrheal illness, reports the University of Virginia Health System. A general sense of being mildly ill typically accompanies fever. Mild headache may also occur.
Diarrhea
Watery diarrhea is the hallmark symptom of rotavirus infection, notes the CDC. Virus particles attack the cells lining the small intestine. Damage to the virus-infected cells leads to diarrhea. Among symptomatic adults, diarrhea is usually mild. However, people with HIV disease may have a more severe disease course. In a 2005 study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, Dr. C. Cárcamo and colleagues reported that rotavirus is a significant cause of persistent diarrhea among people infected with HIV.
Abdominal Cramping
Adult rotavirus infection may cause abdominal cramping, which typically occurs concurrently with diarrhea. Johns Hopkins Medicine reports that rotavirus groups B and C are most likely to cause diarrheal illness among adults in the United States. Adult rotavirus infections typically occur seasonally as they do with children, with the greatest number of cases occurring in the winter months.
Nausea
In an article on rotavirus infection among adults published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Drs. E. Anderson and S. Weber stated nausea is a commonly reported symptom. Whereas vomiting is often a prominent feature of rotavirus infection among young children, it is not usually so among adults. Anderson and Weber point out that rotavirus infection among adults most commonly occurs while caring for a child infected with the virus, after traveling to a region where the illness is common, or related to an epidemic outbreak. Rotavirus is shed in the stool of infected persons. Disease spread occurs with accidental contamination of the hands or food resulting in ingestion of the virus. Hand washing and hygienic food preparation can limit the spread of rotavirus.
