Why is this year’s RSV so bad? COVID-19 could make it worse.

RSV primarily affects children, but a surge will strain all parts of the health care system.like coronavirus On the worst days of the pandemic, elective surgeries could be suspended again, flooding clinics with calls and crowding emergency rooms.

Here’s what RSV is and why it’s become such a big problem.

RSV is a common respiratory virus that causes mild cold-like symptoms in most people. An adult can usually brush off her RSV in a week or two. But it’s a different story for children under the age of one.

The virus is usually behind bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways in the lungs) and pneumonia (lung infection) in children under the age of one. According to the Centers for Disease Control and PreventionAccording to the CDC, an estimated 58,000 children under the age of 5 are hospitalized for RSV infection each year in the United States. From 100 children under 5 years old to her 500 die from her RSV each year.

RSV, other viruses make it harder to find beds in children’s hospitals

The virus can cause fever, runny nose, cough and difficulty breathing in children. So how do you tell the difference between RSV, the flu, and covid-19?

“It’s almost impossible,” said Thomas Murray, an associate professor of pediatric infectious diseases at Yale University School of Medicine.

There are rapid antigen tests, but they cannot be performed at home like the coronavirus tests.

Unlike covid-19, RSV spreads through surfaces rather than droplets, Murray said. Along with washing your hands, he suggests sanitizing frequently touched surfaces such as toys, doorknobs, kitchen counters, and sinks.

“These infections could have spread over time, but now they’re all coming together,” said Celine Gownder, a clinical assistant clinical professor of medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

Simple physics is another reason why children under the age of 1 suffer from RSV. Because the airways are smaller, inflammation has a more severe impact, and oxygen and treatment are more likely to be needed.

Why is this year’s RSV so bad?

Experts agree that people have done the right thing by wearing masks and social distancing due to covid-19, but the lack of interaction with bacteria means our bodies Much less resilient to illness.

Small interactions with viruses prepare our systems to better handle future virus exposures. After years of wearing masks and distancing at school, children have less biological defenses to fend off multiple viruses at once. , I didn’t know a world without covid-19, so I don’t have an immune system either. This is also a numbers game. The more months the virus is circulating, the more likely it is that your immune system will be caught off guard.

This means that young children are largely helpless against all the respiratory viruses that thrive in the winter.

Elizabeth Mack, director of the Pediatric Critical Care Unit at the Medical College of South Carolina, said she receives calls from staff in neighboring states asking if her facility has pediatric beds.

“Children’s hospitals in this country are now flooded,” she said.

Mack said RSV is the most common reason infants are hospitalized. The RSV season usually starts in October, she said. This year, the wave started in September or she in August.

“Looks like you’re back early,” she said.

Fear and failure in the search for an RSV vaccine for decades. Success!

No studies have shown that RSV has changed. Instead, we have

It may not sound like many cases started a month or so ago, Mack said, but there are other devastating forces beyond anyone’s control. About influenza vaccine.

The pandemic has brought RSV and influenza into the country. New ways and strange times of the yearsaid William Schaffner, medical director of the nonprofit National Infectious Diseases Foundation and professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

“It’s just that the children were protected from it,” he said.

Covid is letting flu and other common viruses act in unfamiliar ways

Unlike measles and mumps, RSV can be contracted multiple times in a lifetime. He said that once the virus is over, people usually get more immunity for a year or two. However, it becomes a problem because various respiratory diseases are prevalent in winter.

Schaffner said “some people are worried we’re going to have a triple epidemic” of respiratory syncytial virus converging on covid-19 and influenza.

There is no government-approved RSV vaccine, Gounder said.

Researchers have been trying to develop vaccines and treatments for RSV for half a century, she said. they are closer than ever.

“It may be within five years before it’s available to children under five,” Gounder said.

She said there are two possible ways to immunize children against RSV.

This is especially welcome to the medical community, as children under six months are rarely vaccinated, Gownder said. Children are born with antibodies donated by their mother. Studies show that vaccines given at that time may not be as effective as those given later.

There may not be a cure, but there are preventive drugs for RSV. Palivizumab, marketed under the name Synagis, is a monoclonal antibody treatment given to at-risk infants before the RSV season, Schaffner said.

But as with covid-19, doctors prefer aggressive vaccinations, which provide what the body needs to create its own defenses, rather than monoclonal antibody therapy. Instead of giving your body fish, think of it as teaching it fish.

What to do if your child gets RSV

Beyond cold-like symptoms, there are other signs of serious RSV infection, Gounder said.

Another sign of severe RSV cases is if a child is “pulling”. Gowners characterize this as difficulty breathing, pulling the skin around the ribs and collarbone.

The focus is on children getting RSV and filling pediatric wards, but so are the elderly. susceptible to virusesThe expert advice is the same. Wash your hands, clean surfaces, and seek medical attention if you feel unwell.