The children’s wards are quite full with patients with the RS virus. Several Rotterdam hospitals report this. The situation is remarkable, because the virus normally only occurs in winter. Parents are urged to be alert.
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“I have never experienced this,” says Louis Bont, professor at the UMC, who has been working with the virus for more than 25 years. “It’s very special. RS in the summer is really unique.” Patients are even being transferred from Rotterdam hospitals to other hospitals.
The epidemic appears to be a direct result of the corona outbreak, explains Bont. “We haven’t seen an RS virus for a year and a half. The disease is actually there every winter and that creates herd immunity. People have been through it and are therefore protected. But now the virus has a chance because no one in society is protection after such a quiet period.”
Because people now have more contact with each other, but no protection for the RS virus, the virus can now spread. “You saw an outbreak like this in France and the United States before,” explains Bont. “Then it will show up in a certain region. It will also not be the case that the virus spreads all over the country. It also disappeared in France and the US.”
Dangerous
The RS virus looks a lot like a bad cold. RS virus is the second leading cause of death in infants worldwide. Bont: “But in the Netherlands, no children die from RS, and only very occasionally if they also have another condition in addition to RS. Fortunately, our ICs are one of the best in the world. This allows us to keep these babies alive. can handle it.”
Bont wants to urge parents in the vicinity of Rotterdam to be alert in the coming period if there is a cold. “Follow your instincts and go to the doctor. A cold can be enough. Shortness of breath in babies is very difficult to estimate.”
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