08 april 2023 – 22:49
The positive results from the research into a vaccine against the RS virus have been definitively confirmed. It will be possible to vaccinate babies, pregnant women and the elderly to prevent serious infection with the RS virus. The Spaarne Gasthuis made an important contribution to this research.
Positive results from the study definitively confirmed
“The vaccine has a particularly positive effect on babies during the first 3 months,” said Marlies van Houten, a pediatrician and one of the principal researchers on the vaccine at the Spaarne Gasthuis. The vaccine transfers the antibodies produced by the mother to the baby through the placenta. This means that babies in their most vulnerable period are better protected against the RS virus thanks to the vaccine.
The research, led by Prof. Dr. Louis Bont, pediatrician-infectiologist at UMC Utrecht, was conducted among 7,400 mothers and their newborn children. Researchers from the Spaarne Gasthuis, together with the Kennemerland Youth Health Care and midwifery practices in the region, have played a major role in this. The pregnant women were informed about this study during the 22-week jab at the JGZ and at the outpatient clinic.
In elderly people with poor health, the virus causes flu-like symptoms and the RS virus is a common cause of respiratory infections. This can be prevented by vaccinating them with the same vaccine.
This vaccine for pregnant women and the elderly is likely to be registered by the EU next year.
RS virus: the numbers
Every year, 150 to 200 babies in the Netherlands end up in intensive care due to this virus. Among healthy infants, one in 56 is hospitalized. The RS virus is the second leading cause of death in infants worldwide, after malaria.
Editorial Medicalfacts/ Janine Budding
I studied physiotherapy and Health Care business administration. I am also a registered independent client support worker and informal care broker. I have a lot of experience in various positions in healthcare, the social domain and the medical, pharmaceutical industry, nationally and internationally. And have broad medical knowledge of most healthcare specialties. And of the care laws from which the care is regulated and financed. Every year I attend most of the leading medical conferences in Europe and America to keep my knowledge up-to-date and to keep up with the latest developments and innovations. Currently I am doing a Masters in Applied Psychology.
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