BEIJING, April 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- On the eve of April 25, National Children's Immunization Day, the 2024 Rotavirus Science Awareness Week, planned by the People's Daily Health App and supported by Merck & Co., Ltd. China, was officially launched in Beijing. With the theme of "Caring for Good Seedlings, Worry-free Growth", children are the future of the country and the hope of the nation, and as the first line of defense to ensure the healthy growth of the next generation of seedlings, it is particularly important to scientifically transmit rotavirus and vaccination knowledge. Mr. Kong Lingzhi, Executive Vice President and Secretary-General of China Health Promotion and Education Association, Mr. Zhao Anping, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of People's Daily Health Client, Mr. Jia Xiaowei, Editor of People's Health Publishing Group, Professor Qian Yuan of Virology Research Office of Capital Institute of Pediatrics, You Chuan, Director of Health Education Department of Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Dr. Zheng Dongyi of Health Care Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Tsinghua University, and many other guests gathered together to jointly launch the 2024 Rotavirus Science Publicity Week.
Group photo of guests in the kick-off session
All parties call for protecting the health of seedlingsIn recent years, there has been a growing public demand for health knowledge. However, there is still a lack of information about infectious diseases and vaccines, especially about infant and young child vaccination, and there is still a need for more publicity and education among new parents and mothers in the third trimester.
The National Health Commission's Healthy Children Action Enhancement Plan (2021-2025)[1] mentions that the prevention and control of key childhood diseases should be strengthened, focusing on common childhood diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhoea, and hand, foot and mouth disease, and appropriate technologies for the prevention and treatment of childhood diseases should be promoted. "In order to effectively improve children's health, especially to prevent common childhood diseases such as diarrhea caused by rotavirus infection, we need the extensive participation and joint efforts of all sectors of society, including medicine, education, media and families, to provide a solid and powerful guarantee for the healthy growth of children," said Kong Lingzhi, Executive Vice President and Secretary-General of the China Health Promotion and Education Association. "
Kong Lingzhi, Executive Vice President and Secretary-General of China Health Promotion and Education Association
Mr. Zhao Anping, deputy editor-in-chief of the People's Daily Health Client, pointed out that in the process of popularizing rotavirus prevention and control knowledge, the diversification of health science popularization methods has played an important role. "We hope to take the Rotavirus Science Publicity Week as an opportunity to use a variety of forms and channels to convey scientific and accurate knowledge of rotavirus prevention and control in an all-round and multi-angle way, gradually improve the public's awareness of rotavirus and prevention, and jointly practice the health concept of prevention first. "
Mr. Zhao Anping, deputy editor-in-chief of People's Daily Health Client
In order to sort out and transmit medical information in a more standardized manner, the China Health Promotion and Education Association organized a team of authoritative experts to compile the "10 Core Information on Health Education for the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diarrhea in Infants and Young Children", which was officially launched on the human health assistant knowledge service platform on the day of the event. Mr. Jia Xiaowei, editor and reviewer of People's Medical Publishing Group, pointed out: "The release of the core information of popular science education provides medical workers with scientific, standardized and practical guidance on the prevention and treatment of infectious diarrhea in infants and young children, which helps to improve their professional quality and level in clinical practice and provides scientific guidance for the healthy growth of infants and young children. "
Mr. Jia Xiaowei, editor of People's Health Publishing Group
Roitis poison is susceptible and affects the growth of seedlingsExperts and mother representatives from the fields of pediatrics, maternal and child, and preventive health care discussed "how to take care of the health of newborn babies" around the questions related to gastroenteritis caused by rotavirus infection that are of particular concern to mothers in the third trimester.
Roundtable session guest sharing
Rotavirus belongs to the family Reoviridae [2], and children infected with rotavirus have a variety of clinical manifestations ranging from vomiting, diarrhea, and fever [3][4] to extreme consequences such as death in severe cases [5]. At the same time, gastroenteritis caused by rotavirus may affect growth and brain development in children in terms of long-term effects [2]. "Rotavirus is the leading cause of severe dehydrating diarrhea in children under 5 years of age worldwide [2], and almost every child before the age of 3 to 5 years has been infected with rotavirus [3]. The younger the baby, the more severe the disease may be after rotavirus infection [6,a]. "
Rotavirus is transmitted through many routes and is highly contagious, and once the baby is infected, there is currently no specific drug that can be treated in time [3], which makes parents of newborns particularly headache in the early stage of parenting. You Chuan, director of the Health Education Department of Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, reminded: "Novice parents need to develop good hygiene habits for their babies and get rotavirus vaccines in time to give their babies better protection. In the third trimester of pregnancy, mothers should learn about infant and toddler vaccinations as early as possible, which can help them cope with the first hurdle of parenting in an orderly manner. "
Prevent early and give more protection to the seedlingsThe 2024 edition of the Expert Consensus on Immune Prevention of Rotavirus Gastroenteritis in Children points out that existing studies have shown that rotavirus vaccination is currently an effective measure to prevent rotavirus gastroenteritis. At present, there are three types of rotavirus vaccines on the market in China, including imported pentavalent rotavirus vaccine, domestic trivalent rotavirus vaccine and domestic monovalent rotavirus vaccine.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that rotavirus vaccine should be given as early as possible, starting at six weeks of age [3]. Dr. Zheng Dongyi, from the Department of Health Care of the First Affiliated Hospital of Tsinghua University, suggested: "Vaccination against rotavirus as soon as possible can give better protection to the baby. Parents of newborns can ask their community hospital doctors about rotavirus vaccine when their babies receive the second dose of hepatitis B vaccine at 1 month of age. "
The Rotavirus Science Awareness Week has been officially launched, and more creative rotavirus science popularization content with various forms and rich content will be presented one after another, so as to continue to deepen the public's awareness and understanding of the dangers of rotavirus and the importance of vaccination, and enhance the society's attention to children's health protection. It is understood that the follow-up will also focus on the "10 core information of health education for the prevention and treatment of infectious diarrhea in infants and young children", so that the majority of maternal and child doctors and nurses can master more professional and standardized protection knowledge for gastroenteritis caused by rotavirus infection, so that seedlings can grow happily and worry-free.