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- Sophie hardach
- BBC
published photo, Jill Lehmann / Getty Images
Doctors used to describe the so-called “respiratory syncytial virus” as a seasonal virus that appears during winter, but recent months have seen a sudden increase in cases of the virus in the northern hemisphere.
In early 2021, workers at Maimonides Children’s Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, began to feel cautious relief, as the city’s coronavirus infection rates declined. Due to social distancing, wearing masks and washing hands, the city has also seen a significant drop in infection rates with other viruses, such as the flu.
But then, in March, an increasing number of coughing children and infants arrived at the hospital, some of whom were struggling to breathe.
These children contracted respiratory syncytial virus (CRV), which is more common in winter and can cause lung problems.
At this time of year, RSV cases were supposed to be going down, but instead they were on the rise.
In the months that followed, infection rates soared as far south as the southern United States, Switzerland, Japan and the United Kingdom.
Doctors say the virus’s strange behavior appears to be an indirect result of the Corona outbreak. Over the past year, closures and sanitary measures have stifled the spread of the coronavirus, along with other viruses like respiratory syncytial virus. As a result, the children did not have the opportunity to develop immunity against these viruses.
Once the measures were relaxed, the respiratory syncytial virus found a large group of children susceptible to infection, resulting in sudden spikes at unexpected times.
This virus, which was predictable at a specific time of year, has turned into a virus that can surprise hospitals and families at any time of the year.
The out-of-season virus outbreak has overwhelmed hospitals with patients, put families on alert, and shown that the Corona virus and related measures have completely reshaped the world.
published photo, BSIP / UIG / Getty Images
Respiratory syncytial virus is a common virus that causes infected cells to fuse with each other
Rabia Agha, Director of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Maimonides Children’s Hospital, remembers what happened: “Our intensive care unit is again full, not with coronavirus patients, but with patients. with another virus. ”
At the height of the epidemic in early April, most of the children in the intensive care unit were infected with RSV.
All over the world, the virus has spread to young children who have been protected from infectious diseases for months, and are now suddenly exposed to these diseases.
“It surprised us,” explains Christoph Berger, head of the department of infectious diseases and epidemiology at the University Children’s Hospital in Zurich. “We knew it was something to watch out for and take care of, but we didn’t think it would be so many.”
At Berger hospital, cases of the virus typically peak in January, before cases hit zero in the summer between June and August.
But there were no cases of the virus during the winter of this year. Instead, infection rates began to rise sharply in June, then rose to 183 cases in July, more than cases in previous winters.
Berger recalls the peak of the epidemic in July: “The hospital was overcrowded and the whole family was completely busy, which was a huge challenge for us,” he says.
The hospital where Berger works has had to transfer sick children and children infected with RSV to other hospitals that can still receive new patients. The same has happened in many Swiss hospitals.
published photo, Getty Images
Children with RSV can often be treated with oxygen and most cases get better within a few days
The difficulties Swiss hospitals faced this summer were even greater than those they faced due to the Corona virus outbreak.
“We have had almost no cases of coronavirus during this period,” says Berger.
The few children who arrived at the hospital with coronavirus recovered quickly, while “those who had RSV stayed longer,” Berger said.
But infection with respiratory syncytial virus in itself is not of concern. According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most children will contract this virus before they are two years old. The majority of them will suffer from this virus like a cold-like illness, with a runny nose and cough, and will recover on their own.
But this virus can cause bronchiolitis, an inflammation of the lower parts of the lungs, in some infants and young children, and symptoms can include difficulty breathing and eating.
Between one and two percent of children under six months of age with RSV need to be hospitalized and receive supplemental oxygen through a mask or tubes in the nose to help them recover. Some may also need a feeding tube, and most cases get better within a few days.
Before the coronavirus epidemic, hospitals routinely prepared for respiratory syncytial virus before winter. High-risk patients, such as premature babies and those with lung and heart problems, may be protected with palivizumab, a dose of antibodies that help fight the virus.
Children should receive this dose every month during the months when RSV is active, which is another reason why it is essential to be prepared for relapses.
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