Respiratory syncytial virus has spread.
The infection of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is on the rise in Europe. Children and the elderly are affected by this virus, which can cause severe pneumonia that can lead to death.
Currently, RSV accounts for more than 80% of acute respiratory infections in children under one year of age and 60% in children under five years old. In Italy, in the 2022-2023 season, this infection was responsible for about 50% of flu-like syndromes in children under two, with increased rates of hospitalization in children compared to previous years.
In infants and very young children, RSV can also cause bronchiolitis, a respiratory infection that can lead to respiratory failure in severe cases.
The virus affects the older population in addition to children. It is estimated that there are about 3 million cases of acute respiratory syndromes in patients over 60, with over 465 thousand hospitalizations and more than 33 thousand deaths related to Rsv.
Preventive action
Currently, there are no antiviral treatments specifically designed to fight RSV infection. Prevention is the sole option and involves practices that have already been utilized for Covid, including the use of personal protective equipment and hand washing. To mitigate RSV infections and associated risks, the Italian Society of Hygiene, Preventive Medicine and Public Health (SITI) and the Italian Society of Infectious and Tropical Diseases (Simit) have drawn up the document “Prevention of Respiratory Syncytial Virus infections in the Italian population”.
Objectives of the Simit and Sitl documents.
This document aims to achieve four fundamental objectives: To enhance the surveillance system for respiratory viral infections by following the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC); Consider the new monoclonal antibody as a valuable resource for the prevention of respiratory syncytial virus diseases in a vaccination plan for newborns; Recognize the new vaccine against RSV as an innovative preventive option; include vaccination against RSV in the vaccination schedule; Recommending it also for adults over 60 years of age with co-morbidities and elderly people over 75 years of age.
First world protocol.
A further step forward was made by researchers of the Paris Saclay University and the International Medical University UniCamillus who created the first global protocol for newborns suffering from bronchiolitis admitted to intensive care. This study, published in The Lancet eClinical Medicine, represents an important step for the effective control of a disease that every year causes the death of hundreds of thousands of children.
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