Winter and early spring are the main epidemic seasons of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). RSV infection is the primary factor in hospitalization of viral respiratory infection in infants and young children, and seriously endangeres children's health. 84% of children under 1 year old have been infected with RSV. It can be seen that respiratory syncytial virus infection with should attract sufficient attention.
What is respiratory syncytial virus ?
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a type of single negative strand RNA virus that can invade the mucosa and respiratory epithelial cells of the body, proliferation and trigger respiratory infection .
Infections caused by respiratory syncytial virus can occur all year round, but most of them are winter and spring. People of different age groups can be infected, among which infants and young children under 5 years old are the main infected groups. Studies have shown that in 2020, the number of RSV infections in children under the age of 5 worldwide reached 34.6 million, of which 3 million were infected in China alone. The main symptoms of
RSV infection
RSV is the main cause of bronchioles and pneumonia in infants and children. It is mainly manifested as high fever, rhinitis and pharyngitis. If the infection is not controlled in time, it can progress to respiratory symptoms such as bronchitis and pneumonia, causing shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, and life-threatening. A few children will also experience otitis media , pleurisy , myocarditis , asthma , etc.
For adults and adolescents, it is mostly manifested as ordinary respiratory infections, such as mild bronchitis, and some patients with mild symptoms do not even have obvious symptoms.
RSV transmission method
Respiratory syncytial virus is often found in densely populated areas, and the main transmission route is air droplets and close contact.
RSV prevention
At present, there is no safe and effective RSV vaccine and corresponding special drugs, and conventional antiviral drugs have certain effects. Due to factors such as high variation in the viral gene sequence, even people infected with RSV have limited immune protection effects. At present, WHO has listed the research and development of RSV vaccines as one of the priority vaccines to develop.
Since the main infected people of RSV are infants and young children, parents should pay attention to the following points to prevent:
- Pay attention to personal hygiene, do not kiss the mouth and nose of infants directly, do not face the baby when adults cough and sneeze, and adults need to wash their hands before holding the baby when they come back;
- keep indoor air circulating, open windows for ventilation, and pay attention to increasing and decreasing clothes with the temperature;
- avoid going to crowded places, and wear masks when going there;
- often clean the baby's toys, wash hands after going out, and do not share tableware with the baby;
- If a baby has fever, cough, nasal congestion, shortness of breath, etc., seek medical treatment in time.
Teenagers and adults also need to develop good hygiene habits, wash their hands before and after meals, avoid drinking raw water, eat clean and fresh food, and maintain a certain amount of exercise to enhance immunity. If the corresponding symptoms occur, you need to be isolated and seek medical treatment in time, wear a mask, and avoid spreading the virus to others. The etiology diagnosis of
RSV
2020 edition of the "Expert Consensus on Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection in Children" proposes:
must determine that the diagnosis of RSV infection must be based on etiology results. The collection and delivery of clinical samples is crucial for laboratory diagnosis of RSV.
can currently be used in the early diagnosis of clinical RSV infection mainly in antigen detection and nucleic acid detection . Positive antigen detection means that the virus is in an active replication and proliferation state, while the nucleic acid detection sensitivity is higher.
RSV detection is highly sensitive and specific. The multiviral nucleic acid detection kit developed based on acute respiratory infection syndrome can quickly identify a variety of respiratory pathogen nucleic acids from respiratory samples at the same time, helping clinical patients with early diagnosis and treatment.
