Source: [Jiangsu Health]
Acute lower respiratory tract disease is a major culprit that seriously threatens the life and health of infants and young children. Recently, at the 2022 Education and Science Popularization of Lower Respiratory Diseases in Infants and Toddlers, experts reminded that the most common viral pathogen that causes acute lower respiratory tract infection of in children under 5 years old is respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and parents should be vigilant.
html Acute respiratory infection in children under 45 years old, with the highest RSV detection rate
Zeng Mei, Director of the Infectious Disease Department of Pediatric Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University,
, Director of the Infectious Disease Department of Children Affiliated to Fudan University, , Director of the Infectious Disease Department of Children under 5 years old,
Acute lower respiratory tract infection is one of the main causes of morbidity, hospitalization and death in children under 5 years old. Research shows that in 2015, more than 33.1 million children worldwide were infected with RSV and more than 3.2 million children were hospitalized due to infection. "Among children under 5 years old in China, about 2.58 million cases of respiratory syncytial virus infection in every year, most of which are infants and young children." Zeng Mei, director of the Department of Infectious Disease Hospital of Fudan University, said that China has a large number of children, and among the 1.4 billion people, children account for 15%, which is a considerable group. Every year, various pediatric systems, from tertiary hospital to secondary hospital , and then to grassroots hospital , lower respiratory tract infection . In addition to key viruses such as the new coronavirus and influenza , RSV is a respiratory pathogen that pediatricians have always paid attention to. According to the national monitoring data for acute respiratory infections from 2009 to 2019, RSV accounts for the highest proportion of virus detection in children under 5 years old (including upper respiratory tract infection and lower respiratory tract infections), reaching 28.1%. In children with severe pneumonia, especially those who are admitted to the ICU, inhaled oxygen or intubated due to severe pneumonia, the detection rate of RSV can be as high as 50%.
RSV infection is particularly easy to be confused with influenza
RSV infection is easily confused with other respiratory diseases, especially influenza. Inexperienced parents can easily confuse the two. Early childhood RSV infection is clinically manifested as upper respiratory tract irritation symptoms, such as nasal congestion, runny nose, cough and hoarseness, which are often accompanied by fever. As the condition progresses, children with RSV infection may develop lower respiratory tract infection, such as coughing, wheezing, and further aggravation may experience shortness of breath, difficulty in breathing, difficulty in feeding and mental depression. "Infant RSV infection has a special prominent feature, which is mainly manifested as wheezing, not fever, especially for small babies. When wheezing occurs, the child is very painful. We have to see many such children every year. When the child pants, his face turns red and he can't breathe. In severe cases, it will cause the child to feel hypoxia, purple lips, and not sleep well at night. A breath of wheezing lasts for a long time and he can't eat well. At this time, it is helpless for parents. The symptoms of acute attack usually last for one to two weeks before slowly relieving, which brings physical and mental trauma to both children and parents. There are also some infants with RSV infections accompanied by fever, accompanied by obvious cough." Zeng Mei said.
RSV infection may also cause these sequelae
For infants and young children whose lungs are in a critical developmental stage, RSV infection may also cause sequelae of respiratory system damage such as asthma , decreased activity endurance, and the impact of impaired lung function can last for more than 10 years. In addition to respiratory diseases, RSV infection may also lead to other system lesions, such as the cardiovascular system, central nervous system , etc. "The risk of repeated wheezing attacks and asthma after RSV infection in infancy will increase significantly. Some children with severe RSV infection will have residual lung function impairment after surviving." Zeng Mei emphasized.
Chinese Preventive Medicine Association Deputy Secretary-General Zhang Lingli
Chinese Preventive Medicine Association Deputy Secretary-General Zhang Lingli said that respiratory syncytial virus infection not only aggravates the original chronic respiratory disease, but also may cause repeated asthma, leaving sequelae, and has a great impact on children's health around the world and the burden of disease. Therefore, carrying out popular science work on respiratory syncytial virus disease prevention is a very important and primary task.
Family health management is the only preventive measure for family members to do a good job of health
Beijing Children's Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University Xie Zhengde
"RSV can be transmitted through droplets or through contact. Conventional family prevention, general non-pharmaceutical prevention measures such as washing hands more can help prevent the virus." Xie Zhengde, director of the Infection and Virus Research Office of Beijing Children's Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University and the Beijing Pediatrics Research Institute, emphasized that especially for small babies, adults may carry viruses when they go home. If they do not wash their hands and have close contact with children, they may pass the virus to their children, so the family should do a good job of health management.
Zhang Yan, Office of Virus Disease Prevention and Control, China Centers for Disease Control,
"In our country, winter and spring are the peak of epidemics in the northern region, and in the southern region, winter or wet rainy season are its peak. There will also be detection at other times." Zhang Yan, director of the measles , Office of the Virus Disease Control, China Centers for Disease Control, said that the burden of disease caused by RSV infection is very serious worldwide, and a large amount of medical and health resources are consumed every year, which poses a great burden on society and families. China is one of the countries with the largest number of RSV infections in the world, and it is urgently needed to effectively solve clinical unmet needs to reduce the burden of RSV disease, family and economic burden. Zhang Yan emphasized that if HRSV infection can be diagnosed in a timely manner and prevented and controlled manner, it will bring good public health benefits. At present, no vaccine has been approved to prevent RSV infection. In June 2021, World Health Organization (WHO) has formulated documents to promote the development of high-quality, safe, affordable and effective monoclonal antibodies to prevent severe RSV diseases and RSV-related deaths in infants and young children around the world. Xie Zhengde introduced that at present, vaccines are still under intensive development, but long-acting humanized monoclonal antibodies have achieved good early research results in prevention and may be applied to clinical practice in the next few years. "Only one injection is needed during the RSV epidemic season, which can reduce the burden on children and parents." Xie Zhengde said.
It is understood that the research and development of long-acting human monoclonal antibody in China has entered the third phase of clinical trials. Recent research on the effectiveness and safety of RSV prevention in infants and young children will be carried out in many places, and clinical recruitment work will be launched soon.
Reporter Hua Linyue
This article comes from [Jiangsu Health] and only represents the author's views. National Party Media Information Public Platform provides information release and dissemination services.
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