Wintertime is here and once again parents are on the alert for health hazards associated with cold weather.

There’s one childhood ailment that traditionally becomes more common this time of year and has nothing to do with low temperatures.

That’s rotavirus [ROW-tuh-VIE-russ] infection, an ailment that many children experience at least once before age 5.

As the name implies, this disease is caused by a virus. It’s transmitted through contact with feces from infected people.

The symptoms of a rotavirus infection include diarrhea and vomiting, which can lead to dehydration. For infants and toddlers, it can pose a life-threatening situation.

Worldwide, about 500,000 children die each year from rotavirus infections.

Rotavirus vaccines have been available since 2006. But not every child is vaccinated, and the vaccine isn’t foolproof. So rotavirus is still with us. What’s more, there are no treatments to stop the pathogen once it’s established.

That may change soon.

In a study published in the journal Science, researchers reported curing infected mice with a surprisingly simple therapy.

It involved a compound called flagellin [fluh-JELL-unn], which is found in the whip-like appendages that protrude from some bacteria.

When researchers administered flagellin to the mice, it activated a natural immune response from cells located in the small intestine.

The intestinal cells released two types of proteins. Together, these proteins prevented the virus from replicating and quickly ended the infection.

Assuming that this treatment proves safe and effective for people, it could be a big help to doctors.

It would also be a big relief for parents if their worries about rotavirus could be left out in the cold, for good.