[ad_1]
Respiratory infection prevalent mainly in winter has increased in parts of the United States
“Particularly in the southern United States, we have seen an increase in what is called RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus. It is a virus that causes a cold, much like the flu causes a cold, although it can be serious in very young children and the elderly. adults, ”says Dr Gregory Poland, infectious disease physician and researcher at the Mayo Clinic.
Respiratory syncytial virus, influenza, and COVID-19 are all respiratory infections that share similar symptoms, except for the loss of taste or smell which can occur with COVID-19 unless there are complications. . One of the hallmarks of COVID-19 infection is the loss of smell and taste.
Symptoms of severe respiratory syncytial virus include:
- Fever.
- Severe cough.
- Hissing – a high-pitched sound that is usually heard on exhalation.
- Rapid breathing or difficulty in breathing. A person may prefer to sit rather than lie down.
- Bluish color of the skin, or cyanosis, due to lack of oxygen.
“There’s another side to this: the very areas where we are seeing an increase in RSV cases are the areas that have the lowest uptake of the COVID vaccine and the highest infection case rates,” the report said. Poland. “You can’t tell them apart just by clinical symptoms, unless you’ve lost your taste and smell, which would lead you to say, ‘Well, it’s probably COVID. “The only thing you can do is take a nasal swab test to distinguish infection.”
Under normal circumstances before the COVID-19 pandemic, your respiratory infection could be considered a cold. But now it could be COVID-19.
“And even if your symptoms don’t get worse, you can still pass it on to other people. Nothing prevents you from being co-infected. Last year we were talking about the possibility of a double pandemic: COVID-19 and influenza. Nothing prevents that from happening. “
If you have a respiratory infection, Poland recommends seeing a health care provider and getting tested.
“It’s important to see a doctor to get this swab because if it’s the flu, we can treat it. If it’s RSV or COVID-19, and it’s progressing or stopping. worse, there are things we can do – and it’s important to know what the diagnosis is – including masking, quarantining, and securing it so we don’t pass it on to other people. “
Poland urges all eligible people to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
[ad_2]
Source link