Rotavirus rates fell in adults, too, after vaccine

By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Fewer older children and adults were hospitalized for severe diarrhea once the U.S. started vaccinating babies against rotavirus in 2006, according to a new study. Rotavirus is one cause of the “stomach flu,” or gastroenteritis, and introduction of the rotavirus vaccine has already been tied to a drop in related hospitalizations among preschoolers. But whether vaccinating babies would also confer protection for older people was unclear, researchers said. …