“The Gauteng Department of Health would like to dispel any rumours of a rotavirus outbreak in the province,” spokesperson Steve Mabona said.

Mabona was responding to the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) allegations that there was an increase in the number of babies who had contracted gastroenteritis, despite being given the rotavirus vaccination as a preventative measure.

Rotavirus, a contagious disease, is one of the leading causes of severe diarrhoea worldwide that causes gastroenteritis and the symptoms are dehydration, fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and watery diarrhoea.

DA health spokesperson, Jack Bloom, issued a statement stating his concern about reports he had received from mothers concerned about their infants’ health and well-being.

In the statement, Bloom said: “I have been contacted by concerned mothers who say that their babies got the vaccine either at a state clinic or a private pharmacy, but had to be hospitalised after contracting gastroenteritis.”

Bloom cited that the the private Arwyp hospital in Kempton Park said it had seen a rise in rotavirus cases and was “investigating why the Rotavirus vaccine was ineffective”.

“There are seven varieties of rotavirus and the available vaccines protect against five of them, so it is possible that there is an outbreak of the two other strains,” Bloom said.

He said that a possible reason why the vaccine did not work as it should have, was that the vaccines may not have been refrigerated properly.

“The companies producing the vaccines need to explain why they have not worked and ensure that babies are properly immunised against this highly contagious virus,” Bloom said.

Mabona said it was important to note that: “Rotavirus is not the only cause of childhood gastroenteritis. Other causes include changes from liquid to solid foods, food allergy, bacterial and viral infections including HIV.”

Because rotavirus is not the only cause of gastroenteritis in children, Mabona said: “It is possible for a child to have gastroenteritis even though they have been immunized against rotavirus which is administered at 6 and 14 weeks.”

Mabona further stated that studies carried out by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases had “shown a marked reduction in Rotavirus related gastroenteritis in the country.”

ANA