1. What are the symptoms of RS virus?
In most cases, children develop common colds with the RS virus, explains RIVM spokesman Harald Wychgel. “So it’s mostly a common cold and cough. Some kids also have a fever or an earache.”
Usually, the RS virus is indistinguishable from a normal cold. You cannot check for RS yourself, this is only done in hospital in children who react badly to the virus.
2. How dangerous is the RS virus?
Every child gets infected with the RS virus sooner or later. “Most of the kids had it by the age of three. Infection is actually inevitable. In general, kids get better after about three to seven days.”
However, in some cases the disease is less mild. “If you get the RS virus as an infant or child, it can sometimes take a more severe form. Children can get short of breath and inflammation of the airways can occur. And even pneumonia.”
3. When should I call the doctor?
Parents may now be a little more concerned if their child has a bad cold. When is it time to call the doctor? “That question is always difficult to answer,” says Wychgel.
“But: Doctors themselves say that it is wise to call if a child is short of breath, does not breathe for a few seconds or drinks badly all day. There is also a lot of information about this on the reliable website thuisarts.nl.”
You can recognize shortness of breath in a child, for example, according to Wychgel by “wheezing or rapid breathing.” “Or the nostrils that move with breathing. With a strong tension, the skin on the ribs pulls in.”
Sounds pretty intense, with one this small. But Wychgel is keen to point out that “most children get better relatively quickly.”
4. What can I do myself against the RS virus?
As annoying as it sounds, the answer to this question is simple: give your child a paracetamol suppository and wait. Other than cleaning your child’s mucus blisters regularly, there’s not much else you can do. “You just have to keep an eye on him.”
While everyone gets the RS virus, you can still do something preventative. We remember this from corona: “Wash your hands a lot, cough and sneeze in your arm and shake hands less and touch your face. Because avoiding contact is almost impossible to achieve.”
5. Can I get the RS virus as an adult and is it dangerous?
Yes you can get it. But probably not in such a violent form. “You can get re-infected every year, even if you already had it as a child. You just have a respiratory infection.”
But it’s not going to happen very often that a parent infects a child. Wychgel: “It’s usually the kids who get it first.”
The elderly are the exception: “If you are more vulnerable, for example due to other underlying conditions, you are more at risk. The same is true for adults with underlying heart or lung conditions.”
6. Can you get vaccinated against the RS virus?
Children with an increased risk of a serious RS infection can receive a vaccine containing antibodies. “This only happens in exceptional cases in hospital, on the recommendation of a pediatrician, for example.”
No RS vaccinations are included in the national immunization schedule. This is not yet possible, because such a vaccine with a preventive effect is still under development.
Such a vaccine is within reach. Last November, a first vaccine was approved by the European Union. And a study of vaccination in pregnant women is underway. The mother then receives an injection during her pregnancy to protect the baby after it is born. This is now also happening, for example, with a pertussis vaccination, at 22 weeks of pregnancy.
