Pediatric experts: Parents should raise awareness of respiratory syncytial virus and pay attention to prevention

Every reporter: Jin Zhe Every editor: Zhang Haini

Recently, during the high incidence season of respiratory diseases, pediatrics in many places across the country are overcrowded. Among them, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has attracted much attention as the number one cause of hospitalization for pulmonary infections in infants.

During the 6th China International Import Expo, Professor Duan Tao, a well-known pediatric expert and Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Health Hospital, said in an interview with media reporters, including the reporter of the "Daily Economic News", that syncytial virus mostly starts from upper respiratory tract infection, the virus is very infectious, and the development is fast and violent, the symptoms are like a cold at the beginning, if it develops into a lower respiratory tract infection, it can cause bronchiolitis and even pneumonia, it is worth noting that infants and young children are at risk of severe disease after infection.

Professor Duan Tao pointed out that at present, many parents of newborns have very limited awareness of the severity and danger of respiratory syncytial virus, and it is urgent to improve their awareness. He called on all sectors of society to pay attention to the prevention of syncytial virus and form a joint force to protect the baby's respiratory health and a good childhood.

Professor Duan Tao of Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Health Hospital has a conversation with the mother of the child Image source: Courtesy of the company

It is the most common cause of hospitalization in infants under 1 year of age

Syncytial virus is a common, highly contagious respiratory virus. The data shows that the virus is particularly dangerous for infants under 1 year of age, and some infants under 1 year of age are prone to "recurrent wheezing" after being infected with syncytial virus, which is a manifestation of impaired lung function, and its effects can last for more than 10 years, restricting children's sports and play, and causing long-term negative effects on quality of life.

Deng Jiyue, chief physician of the Department of Infectious Diseases of Shenzhen Children's Hospital, who has nearly 30 years of experience in diagnosis and treatment, mentioned that respiratory syncytial virus is a virus that pediatricians attach great importance to.

In addition to the common symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection (laryngitis, hoarseness, runny nose, nasal congestion, cough), syncytial virus can also cause more serious lower respiratory tract infections, including bronchiolitis, pneumonia, atelectasis, and large consolidation of the lungs, which can be seen in syncytial virus infection.

The mainland is one of the countries with a high incidence of syncytial virus in the world. In 2019, Deng outlined that 10 percent of syncytial virus-related children under the age of five and 17 to 26 percent of hospitalizations in China were estimated to account for 10 percent of the world's total. Syncytial virus infection not only affects children with underlying diseases such as premature birth, congenital heart or bronchopulmonary dysplasia, but also many healthy full-term children without any underlying medical conditions are also very susceptible to syncytial virus infection. Eighty-five per cent of healthy full-term infants in mainland China are infected with syncytial virus.

Among them, the younger the child, the higher the detection rate of syncytial virus, and the younger the child, the greater the damage. Syncytial virus infection accounts for 70 to 80 percent of the most common reasons babies are hospitalized within one year of age, Duan said. Infants and young children are prone to infection due to insufficient autoimmunity and strong infection of syncytial virus, and their respiratory tracts are relatively thin, small and tender, so they are prone to severe illness after infection. "If it is not treated in time, it will affect the development of lung function, and it will also affect long-term lung function and mobility. ”

It is imperative to raise awareness and strengthen prevention

Deng Jiyue said that at present, there are no specific treatment measures and vaccines in China to effectively deal with infant syncytial virus infection, and the current treatment of syncytial virus is mainly based on symptomatic supportive treatment, so prevention has become very important. Prevention includes general prevention and active prevention, active immunization is vaccination, unfortunately there is no syncytial virus vaccine available for infants and young children on the mainland. Passive immune monoclonal antibodies have been well advanced and developed, and are expected to provide new possibilities in terms of prevention.

According to him, monoclonal antibodies that have been marketed abroad can provide adequate protection for all infants, including premature infants and healthy, full-term newborns, or some other newborns with underlying diseases. Moreover, its protective efficiency and safety are also relatively good, compared with the placebo group, the incidence of syncytial virus lower respiratory tract infection can be reduced by 76.4%.

"If the monoclonal antibody is injected, more than three-quarters of children will not be hospitalized with syncytial virus infection. Compared with children without intervention, there was a reduction in attendance rates, with an 83% reduction in hospitalizations for lower respiratory tract infections and a 58% reduction in hospitalizations for all-cause (all-cause) lower respiratory tract infections. Deng believes that children's preventive products should not only consider the effect and safety, but also the compliance is also very important, and for many parents, only one shot is more acceptable than a few injections.

The reporter of "Daily Economic News" noticed that at this year's CIIE, Sanofi brought the innovative achievements of Beyfortus, an innovative prevention method for respiratory syncytial virus, to the booth in the field of immune prevention. In May this year, Beyfortus was included in the priority review process by the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) of China, and entered the fast track of approval.

Duan Tao said that foreign preventive products have been on the market, and from the perspective of doctors, he hopes that good products can also be implemented in China as soon as possible. At the same time, the awareness of syncytial virus in society is also very important. Not only from the mother's point of view, but also from the doctor's point of view, I hope to do a good job of prevention in the future, so that mothers and babies will suffer less. There is a term in public health called "tertiary prevention": primary prevention is to try not to make this happen, secondary prevention is early screening, early detection, and early intervention, and tertiary prevention is to do something to reduce the harm to patients after the disease has already occurred.

In Duan Tao's view, first of all, we must understand the existence of syncytial virus, and know that it is particularly contagious, has a particularly heavy impact, and has a relatively long impact time. On this basis, it is hoped that more effective interventions and protective measures will be seen. "We can do more to raise and strengthen the awareness of medical staff and the public, and together we can contribute more to the construction of a healthy China's immune defense line. ”

National Business Daily