Five respiratory viruses to worry about this season

For: Hello Doctor Posted 28 Jan 2023, 17:01 pm EST

Although the world isa full of germs constantly passing from host to host, some reappear in certain seasons and, if they do so at the same time, they “fight” to prevail.

Now in the northern hemisphere this particular scenario of viral battle between old and new acquaintances is taking place, microorganisms that can mean anything from a couple of days of discomfort to a serious illness that requires hospitalization.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports the intense circulation of these families of these seven respiratory viruses: coronavirus, human metapneumovirus, human parainfluenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), respiratory adenovirus, rotavirus and noroviruses.

They all have common symptoms andAlthough not all appear at once, or some may not appear at all, they are usually:

• Runny nose
• Sore throat
• sneezing
• Nasal congestion
• fever with chills
• Headache
• Body pain
• Cough
• Difficulty breathing

The way of transmission is also similar:

• secretions when coughing and sneezing
• close personal contact, such as touching or shaking hands touching objects or surfaces that have the virus on them and then touching your mouth, nose, or eyes

And they can cause a wide range of clinical scenarios. In most cases noThere is no specific treatment, but medications to alleviate the symptoms, until the body itself eliminates the virus.

These viruses are diagnosed through laboratory testing of nasal or buccal swabs.

coronavirus

In this case, it does not refer only to the one that causes COVID-19 or the one that causes MERS (Middle East respiratory disease) but to the family of coronaviruses well known before the pandemic, which are four: 229E, NL63, OC43 and HKU1, first identified in the 1960s.

Human coronaviruses that cause the common cold spread from person to person. Symptoms develop between 2 and 14 days.

human pneumovirus

It is a common cold-like virus of the upper respiratory tract. It occurs more frequently in winter and spring

Discovered in 2001, HMPV belongs to the paramyxovirus family along with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The wider use of molecular diagnostic tests has increased the identification and awareness of HMPV as a major cause of upper and lower respiratory tract infection.

Human parainfluenza virus

Human parainfluenza viruses (HPIV) commonly cause respiratory infections in infants and young children, 5 years of age and younger. Patients usually recover on their own. However, HPIVs can also cause more serious illnesses, such as croup or pneumonia.

Although its name may be misleading, the flu or influenza vaccine does not protect against human parainfluenza.

To the usual symptoms, in the case of children, the following can be added:

• earache
• irritability
• decreased appetite

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)

Information on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has focused on the risk for children because, in fact, they are usually the population most affected by this gandrmen that it usually causes mild cold-like symptoms, but can also lead to serious lung infections.

However, adults, especially those over the age of 65 and those with immune system, chronic, cardiac, or pulmonary conditions, can contract it with complex health consequences that, in some cases, require hospitalization. And that they can be lethal.

Epidemiologic evidence indicates that the impact of RSV in older adults may be similar to that of non-pandemic influenza. In addition, this virus has been found to cause 2% to 5% of community-acquired pneumonias in adults. Attack rates in assisted living homes are approximately 5% to 10% per year, with significant rates of pneumonia (10% to 20%) and death (2% to 5%).

Each winter in the United States, between 3% and 10% of adults develop RSV-associated respiratory infections. Like the flu, these infections are often more serious and longer lasting than the “common cold.”

respiratory adenovirus

They are perhaps the most common viruses. They cause cold symptoms that sometimes look like the flu.

In addition to the usual symptoms that it shares with other viruses, people with adenovirus may present:

• acute bronchitis (inflammation of the airways in the lungs, also called a chest cold)
• pneumonia (lung infection)
• conjunctivitis
• acute gastroenteritis (inflammation of the stomach or intestines causing diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea and stomach pain)

Other less common symptoms of adenovirus infection include:

• inflammation or infection of the bladder
• neurological disease (conditions related to the brain and spinal cord)