Amid a monthslong measles outbreak, infection rates seem to be increasing for rotavirus, a disease most common among children and infants.
In the week ending April 4, 7.3% of 2,329 rotavirus tests were positive for the infection, according to the most recent CDC data. The percentage is higher than last year’s peak, which was a 6.77% positivity rate among 3,898 tests the week ending April 19, 2025.
Rotavirus rates typically peak in the spring, but it is unclear when transmission rates will begin declining this year. The lack of clarity comes from fewer rotavirus tests compared to previous years and declining vaccination rates. Nationally, approximately 74% of children are vaccinated against rotavirus, and that figure has steadily lowered over the last eight years, according to the CDC.
The infectious disease often causes watery diarrhea, vomiting, fever and stomach pain. Physicians across the U.S. are noticing more cases, especially among children too young to be vaccinated, according to an April 15 article from NBC News.
Marlene Wolfe, PhD, program director and co-principal investigator of WastewaterScan, a wastewater monitoring organization, told NBC News levels of the rotavirus virus are increasing in the Midwest and West.
“We’re seeing a lot of rotavirus in wastewater right now, definitely very high levels and that indicates to us that there are high levels of rotavirus infections in these communities,” Dr. Wolfe said.
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