Rarely deaths due to RS virus

Many babies with respiratory syncytial virus in Switzerland

01/04/2013

In Switzerland, currently the respiratory syncytial virus (RS virus), which causes severe respiratory diseases. Especially for babies and toddlers, infection with the RS virus can be dangerous. Physicians call parents therefore to vigilance. Deaths are rare.

RS virus can be dangerous for babies
In Switzerland, the insidious respiratory syncytial virus continues to spread. Several thousand babies and toddlers have already become infected with the highly contagious RS virus. Accurate numbers are not known, however, because the virus is characterized by similar symptoms, including respiratory complaints, as a flu-like infection.

For infants, the RS virus can be particularly dangerous, requiring hospitalization in hospital. In Infection with the RS virus occurs in infants usually first fever of 38 to 39.5 degrees, the nose starts to run and coughing and difficulty breathing occur. Frequently, the little patients no longer drink enough, as the difficulty in breathing makes it difficult to drink. However, dehydration quickly leads to a serious condition. Parents who notice signs of harm to their children should seek medical attention immediately.

Another complication of RSV infection may involve the bronchi and bronchioles. The narrow and short airways in infants can be affected, which can cause bronchiolitis with obstruction of oxygen uptake. When infants are very pale, fingernails are bluish, showing retinal arches and between ribs, and breathing rapidly with the nostrils, this is a sign of deficient oxygen saturation in the blood. The patient should be taken to a hospital immediately, where his condition is permanently monitored. The main indicators are oxygen saturation and drinking volume, but also ECG and respiratory rate.

Almost all infants suffer from the RS virus once in their lives
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), 40 to 70 percent of all infants underwent an RSV infection during their first year of life and even by the end of their second year of life.

A viral infection can not be treated with drugs such as antibiotics, so the therapy is only aimed at alleviating the symptoms. The outpatient treatment of children suffering from the RS virus initially concentrates on keeping the respiratory tract as free as possible. „We'll see if the kid gets enough oxygen and if he can still drink“, reported the pediatrician Oliver Adam of the Kindergruppenpraxis Solothurn to the „Aargauer newspaper“. But most children could go home afterwards. „We only send a small percentage of the treated children to the hospital.“ For parents there is no reason to panic. „Deaths are rare“, emphasizes Adam. (Sb)

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Picture: Electron micrograph of a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)