RSV for my child: Do I need to worry?

I heard that a new virus called RSV is spreading to children. As a parent, do I have to worry?

The respiratory syncytial virus, commonly known as RSV, is a very common upper respiratory tract disease in children. By the age of two, almost every child has it. Most often, the virus causes mild cold and flu-like symptoms such as runny nose, stuffy nose, and fever.

But for some children, especially babies Can lead to more serious complications A condition in which the small airways of the lungs become inflamed, such as pneumonia and bronchiolitis.A few 58,000 children In the United States, children under the age of 5 are hospitalized for RSV each year. Dr. Ethan Wiener, Head of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at NYU Langone Health, states that this is the number one cause of hospitalization for people under the age of one.

The virus usually circulates in autumn and winter and peaks in February. However, the pandemic confused the usual pattern of RSV. There have been few cases of RSV in many hospitals this past winter. As people wear masks and are physically separated From each other during the blockage, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Positive tests for RSV (and influenza and other seasonal infections) have historically reached low levels. As the state began to reopen and people eased masking and social distance in early summer, infant RSV cases surged across the country.

At the Philadelphia Children’s Hospital, doctors began seeing a surge in cases in May, accelerating in the last eight weeks, said Dr. Audrey, head of the hospital’s pediatric infectious disease department. “Looking at it, none of the children tested for RSV throughout the winter were positive,” she said. “But in the last few weeks, one in four children being tested has been positive for RSV. This is a lot of viruses.”

The RSV epidemic began in the northeast and then seems to have spread to other parts of the country reported by state pediatric hospitals such as Texas, Florida, and Louisiana. Soaring in June..The virus is highly contagious and can survive on hard surfaces For hours.. Experts say it is much more likely to be transmitted through an infected surface than SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.

However, experts say parents of school-aged children should not be overly worried. Although older children can become infected, severe cases of RSV are a concern primarily for children under the age of two, said Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital Pediatric Infectious Diseases Specialist and Hospital Epidemiologist at NYU Langone Health. Dr. Jennifer Lighter said. She said babies, especially preterm babies and those with heart, lung and neuromuscular disease, are at greatest risk.

One way doctors can prevent severe cases of RSV is to give high-risk children a drug called palivizumab. This drug is given by injection once every five months in winter.However, due to the unusual surge in cases this summer, the American Academy of Pediatrics Issued a statement this month Invite your pediatrician to consider giving the drug immediately to babies who may be eligible for the drug.

Older children are less likely to become ill, but more vulnerable children can still be infected with the virus. In general, doctors are advised to follow common sense precautions such as frequent hand washing and disinfection, avoidance of crowded indoor areas, and wearing masks for children over 2 years old. Children and adults with cold or flu symptoms should avoid close contact with their baby. Dr. John of the Philadelphia Children’s Hospital said parents should keep their children home from school or day care if they are ill and experience symptoms such as coughing, runny nose, and sore throat.

“A child who has two of these three symptoms will be something that raises my concerns,” she said. “But if the child is running around and the runny nose disappears quickly, that’s not a problem.”

Dr. John said keeping a sick child at home is partly a matter of social responsibility, as one sick child can inconvenience many other families. I did. “If your child goes to day care and the other five children are infected, the parents of those five children must be at home when the child becomes ill,” she said. Told.

Although there are nasal swab tests that doctors can do to check for RSV, the American Academy of Pediatrics usually does not recommend regular tests for children over 6 weeks. However, parents who are worried about whether their child has RSV or Covid-19 can ask the pediatrician if it makes sense to have the test.

RSV in infants and high-risk children requires immediate medical attention. In rare cases, healthy older children with RSV may become dehydrated and develop respiratory problems. This can be a sign of pneumonia. In such cases, you should see a doctor. However, in general, most children recover completely from RSV at home in a week or two, according to experts.

“The majority of children infected with RSV do not get serious illness-they will catch a cold,” Dr. Wiener said. “In most cases, it’s important to keep your child comfortable and monitor the progression of symptoms, just as you would when you catch a cold.”