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On Tuesday, US health officials warned that doctors are noting an increase in severe cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) among young children in the states of Florida and Georgia.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sent out an advisory to clinicians, noting that regional increases generally predict the start of the RSV season, “with increased RSV activity spreading north and west.” west for the next 2-3 months.
RSV infections can be quite serious in young children and cause up to 300 deaths in children under the age of 5 each year, according to the CDC. About 2 million doctor visits and 80,000 hospitalizations are also attributed to RSV in young children.
According to the US News review, RSV-related hospitalizations in Georgia increased from 2 per 100,000 children ages 4 and younger to 7 per 100,000 between August 5 and 19, according to the CDC. Most of these hospitalizations were of infants.
How to protect children
A new RSV vaccine called Beyfortus (nirsevimab) was recently approved to help prevent infections in infants and young children at risk. The monoclonal antibody is intended for babies younger than 8 months. Children at risk can receive a second injection up to about a year and a half of age.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also approved an RSV vaccine for pregnant women, intended to protect their newborns for the first six months of life.
The vaccine is authorized to be administered between weeks 32 and 36 of gestation. Additionally, in research studies, the vaccine reduced the risk of lower respiratory tract disease by 82% in infants in their first 3 months of life and by 69% in the first 6 months of life.
How RSV works
According to the CDC, people infected with RSV usually develop symptoms 4 to 6 days after becoming infected. Symptoms of RSV infection usually include
- runny nose
- Decreased appetite
- Cough
- sneezing
- Fever
- wheezing
They emphasize that these symptoms usually appear in stages and not all at once. In very young babies with RSV, the only symptoms may be irritability, decreased activity, and breathing difficulties. Almost all children will have had an RSV infection by the time they are two years old.
To alleviate the symptoms, they recommend that parents or caregivers control fever and pain with over-the-counter analgesics and fever reducers, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen. But in no case give aspirin to children.
They also suggest giving the child enough fluids to drink. It is important for people with RSV infection to drink enough fluids to prevent dehydration (loss of body fluids).
And finally, The most important piece of advice is to talk to and see your health care provider before giving your child or guardian over-the-counter cold medicine. Especially since some medicines contain ingredients that are not good for children.
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