One Million U.S. Kids Hospitalized from Norovirus, Leading Cause of Intestinal Disorders In American Children

A new study released by the Centers for Disease Control showed that nearly 1 million children under age five in the U.S. were sent to the hospital with cases of the norovirus in 2009 and 2010. And the cost for treatment cost nearly $273 million a year.

Norovirus is often called the "stomach flu" or "food poisoning" since its symptoms include severe vomiting and diarrhea, and according to the CDC, the virus, which inflames the lining of the stomach and intestines, causes 21 million cases of illness, 70,000 hospitalizations and 800 deaths in the U.S. annually. That's a little more than half of the cases are passed from person to person, and 20 percent are caused by contaminated food.

Findings from the New England Journal of Medicine show that an estimated 1 in 278 kids will be hospitalized for norovirus infection by the time they turn five, about 1 in 14 will visit an emergency room and 1 in 6 will receive out patient treatment.

Estimates show that more than 141,000 children under age five who required medical attention for acute gastroenteritis between October 2008 and September 2010 according to Time. Lab tests also confirmed that presence of the virus, which was indentified in 278 of the 1,295 cases of acute gastroenteritis and rotavirus, and is another cause of gastroenteritis, which was identified in only 152. Infants infected with norovirus were more likely to be hospitalized and about 50 percent of the medical care visits from norovirus infections occurred in kids between six to 18 months.

Researchers believe the rise in norovirus cases may be due in part to better control of rotavirus infection, for which children can be vaccinated.

"Our study confirmed that medical visits for rotavirus illness have decreased," said Dr. Daniel Payne, an epidemiologist in the Division of Viral Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a statement. "Also, our study reinforces the success of the U.S. rotavirus vaccination program and also emphasizes the value of specific interventions to protect against norovirus illness."