SULAIMANI (ESTA) — More than 500 people including children have been diagnosed with rotavirus in the Kurdistan Region’s Raparin administration, authorities said on Monday.
Director of health in Raparin Dr. Diyar Ibrahim said 512 people infected had visited hospitals in the administration over the past week due to their infection with rotavirus.
“Most of those infected with the virus were children,” Ibrahim told Esta Media Network.
The Kurdish health official said there were still 37 patients in the hospital in Qaladize, north of Sulaimani.
Rotavirus can cause severe watery diarrhea, vomiting, fever and abdominal pain. Some children can become extremely dehydrated, requiring hospitalization. If untreated, the condition can prove fatal, but most children vaccinated against rotavirus will be spared severe effects, according to the CDC.
The virus spreads in stool and can be easily passed from one child to the next when they share toys or food, particularly while children are still in diapers.
