Signs of worsening RSV infection… If you show symptoms of difficulty breathing or dehydration, you should be hospitalized. While the flu is rampant, quarantine authorities are on edge as the number of acute respiratory infections in infants and young children due to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is increasing. On the 15th, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency requested thorough infection control and compliance with personal hygiene rules to prevent infection in newborns and infants.
RSV is a highly contagious virus that spreads when droplets enter the eyes, nose, and mouth through coughing, sneezing, or touching. Anyone of any age can be infected, but the incidence is particularly high in infants and toddlers under 2 years of age, who have weak immune systems. If left untreated, it can easily worsen into serious respiratory diseases such as bronchiolitis or pneumonia.
According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s surveillance information, the number of patients hospitalized with RSV in December last year was 192 in the first week (3rd to 9th), 276 in the 2nd week (10th to 16th), 368 in the 3rd week (17th to 23rd), and 4th week. (24th to 30th) The number continued to increase to 454. In the first week of this year (31st to January 6th, 2024), 421 people were recorded. The proportion of seriously ill patients is also significant. In the first week of this year, the number of patients hospitalized for acute respiratory infections was COVID-19, influenza (flu), and RSV, but when looking at the hospitalization status of seriously ill patients, the number of patients with RSV was the second largest after influenza. This is surveillance data from 218 hospitals nationwide (acute respiratory infections) and 42 tertiary general hospitals (severe acute respiratory infections).
RSV is especially vulnerable to premature infants, infants under 6 months of age, children with chronic lung or heart disease, children with weakened immune systems, and children with neuromuscular disorders. Among adults, the elderly, patients with chronic lung disease or heart disease, organ transplant patients, and cancer patients receiving chemotherapy are vulnerable to infection.
RSV starts with cold-like symptoms
The most common symptoms of RSV infection include coughing, runny nose, sneezing, fever, and nasal congestion, which are similar to the initial symptoms of a cold or flu. Symptoms worsen in 25-40% of RSV-infected infants. If you cough with a wheezing or crackling sound, it is possible that the virus has already spread to the lower respiratory tract and caused inflammation in the narrow airways leading to the lungs. As symptoms progress, bronchiolitis or pneumonia may occur, and may become severe, requiring hospitalization.
Most cases of RSV infection do not require testing to confirm infection. However, depending on the history and time, it is necessary to check the presence of the virus and the number of white blood cells by performing an oral or nasal mucosa examination or a blood test at the discretion of a specialist. If the condition is severe enough to require hospitalization, a chest X-ray or chest CT scan is performed to test for pulmonary complications.
The following are cases where you need to quickly contact medical staff. First, if you are short of breath and your breathing is shallow and abnormally fast, you should see a professional to check for chest wall collapse. Chest wall depression is the shape in which the chest wall sinks into the abdomen between the ribs when breathing. Second, it is a case where the child does not drink water or milk well. Third, if the child is particularly tired or the lips or fingernails are blue. Fourth, if the child is wheezing and coughing. Five, if the temperature is over 38 degrees in children under 3 months, you should immediately go to the emergency room, and if it is over 39 degrees in children between 3 and 6 months, you should contact a medical professional on the same day.
If you have difficulty breathing or show signs of dehydration, you should be hospitalized.
According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, mild RSV infection symptoms disappear within one to two weeks without treatment. If you have symptoms, you can manage fever and pain with fever reducers and painkillers such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen as prescribed by your doctor. However, you should not use aspirin. In the case of children, guardians must carefully monitor their intake of sufficient fluids through water, juice, milk, etc. Young infants should be closely monitored for signs of dehydration by checking urine output (number of diaper changes).
Symptoms that appear at first do not improve and gradually worsen, or signs indicating difficulty breathing (rough breathing, nostrils flaring with each breath, cyanosis, breathing with the chest and abdomen depressed, short, shallow, slow, or fast breathing) If symptoms such as shortness of breath, brief pause in breathing, or dehydration are observed, hospitalization is required. To relieve symptoms, you may receive treatment such as fluid therapy, monitoring breathing, removal of respiratory secretions, and oxygen supply. Antibiotic treatment is rarely necessary, but those at high risk of severe respiratory failure may require oxygen treatment in the intensive care unit.
Meanwhile, a vaccine to prevent RSV in infants and young children was approved by the US FDA in July 2023. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends vaccination for all infants and young children in preparation for the RSV epidemic season. It is expected to be commercialized in Korea as early as this year.
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Reporter Park Hyo-soon (anytoc@kormedi.com)
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2024-01-16 12:02:00
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