"Fever again", "This time it's a bad cough", "It's like pulling bellows, it's a bit like asthma"...
Recently, many parents in Shanghai have been "scared" by another virus, and it is
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)
On social media, many parents shared the process of their children's recent infection with respiratory syncytial virus, lamenting that the virus is menacing, even more terrifying than the new crown and influenza A.
The reporter learned from Shanghai Children's Medical Center and Xinhua Hospital that RSV infection cases in children are very common recently
Cao Qing, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases of the National Children's Medical Center and Shanghai Children's Medical Center affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, said in an interview with reporters that the proportion of children infected with RSV currently admitted has exceeded the new crown and influenza, and half of them have wheezing symptoms.
However, relevant experts said that RSV is a self-limiting disease, and it is generally possible to treat it symptomatically, and there is no need to panic too much
What is respiratory syncytial virus?
RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) is an RNA virus of the genus Pneumovirus in the family Pneumoniaviridae. People of all ages can be infected, but the high-risk groups are concentrated in children, the elderly, and immunocompromised people.
After infection, the incubation period is usually 2-8 days, the clinical manifestations are mainly respiratory infection symptoms, early infection is mostly limited to the upper respiratory tract, clinical manifestations such as nasal congestion, runny nose, cough and hoarseness.
Most of the symptoms of RSV infection in children will disappear within 1-2 weeks, a small number can develop into lower respiratory tract infection, mainly manifested as bronchiolitis or pneumonia, more common in infants under 2 years old, clinical symptoms include cough, wheezing, a very small number of further aggravation of shortness of breath and feeding difficulties, severe cases can develop respiratory failure.
In terms of route of transmission, both symptomatic and asymptomatic recessive infections can transmit the virus, usually through:
First, contact transmission, such as nasopharyngeal mucosa or ocular mucosa coming into contact with virus-containing secretions or pollutants;
The second is close contact with the patient, coughing or sneezing, etc.
How can respiratory syncytial virus be prevented and treated?
For the treatment after RSV infection, Wang Xinyu, deputy director of the Department of Infection of Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, told reporters: "It should be said that RSV has not yet been approved for clinical antiviral drugs, and the current treatment is mainly aimed at relieving symptoms." Treatment of RSV-infected children leading to bronchiolitis is the same as in children with other pathogens causing bronchiolitis, with supportive care and, if necessary, fluid and respiratory support. ”
He further said that in adults and older children, glucocorticoids and bronchodilators may have some effect on RSV-induced bronchial hyperresponsiveness. Treatment regimens for RSV infection in immunocompromised patients also vary from person to person, and interventions that may help reduce progression and mortality from upper respiratory tract infection to lower respiratory tract infection include monotherapy or combination therapy with ribavirin, intravenous immunoglobulin, palizozumab, and/or glucocorticoids.
Preventive measures against RSV are still limited. Recently, the US FDA approved the world's first RVS vaccine developed by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for a single vaccination of adults aged 60 years and older, but how long the protective efficacy will last is still uncertain.
GSK's RSV vaccine belongs to the protein subunit vaccine, Professor Xu Jianqing, a researcher at the Institute of Biomedical Research of Fudan University and director of the Shanghai Institute of Emerging Recurrent Infectious Diseases, told First Financial Reporter that the protective efficacy of such vaccines against other diseases should be at least 10 years or more.
"The pox virus has been observed for a maximum of more than 30 years and is still protected; The hepatitis B vaccine has been observed for 10 years and is still protected. "It is widely believed that the protection of protein subunit vaccines may not be less than 10 years, but there is still a lack of systematic data." ”
Why do RSV infections break out during the abnormal season?
RSV infection is widely prevalent in the world, affected by geographical location, temperature and humidity and other factors, in the mainland, RSV infection is more common in winter and spring (about November to February), in the past to winter, RSV infection in children gradually increased, but this year from April, RSV infection is increasing, some of the disease lasts longer.
The reason for this anomaly may be related to self-protection during the epidemic, through wearing masks, home isolation and frequent hand sanitization and other measures, cutting off the transmission route of RSV, reducing the infection rate of RSV, and because of the reduction of stimulation of contact with pathogens, children's immunity to the virus is also generally reduced, and with the effective control of the domestic epidemic, the transformation of prevention and control policies, the scope of public activities has expanded, and people gather, resulting in an increase in RSV infection, resulting in an out-of-season epidemic.
What are the similarities and differences between RSV virus and coronavirus and influenza virus?
All three viruses are airborne and highly contagious, causing symptoms such as fever, cough and nasal congestion, and although they have many similar symptoms, there are some differences.
What are the symptoms that parents should send to the hospital in time?
Children with RSV infection mainly present with cough, wheezing and fever, most of which are mild, and can be improved with routine symptomatic treatment; If the child has fever lasting for more than 3 days, obvious cough and wheezing, and even nasal inflammation, shortness of breath, moaning, sunken chest when breathing, or symptoms such as poor spirits, irritability, feeding difficulties or dehydration, parents need to send their children to medical attention in time.
Source丨Comprehensive Shangguan News, Yicai, The Paper, Urban Express and other editors丨Li Sufeng first trial丨Yang Si second trial丨Huang Xiaohui third trial丨Zhang Quan