At the emergency entrance of Mount Sinai West Hospital on 59th Street in New York, the same image is striking as in the rest of the country’s hospitals: Increase in income for children under five and infants. They are infected with respiratory syncytial virus, a flu-like pathogenbut for which there is not vaccine.
It is common for children to get infected with it and most have no problem recovering after a few days. it is often mistaken for a common flu. However, nearly 60,000 children are hospitalized and 500 of them die each year.
The alarm comes because this year the figures will be worse given the current level of hospital admissions.
The precise cause is not yet known, but the doctors here explain how the vulnerability of the little ones is likely after spending two years sheltered at home due to confinement due to the pandemic, without even going to school and then not getting used to theirs. immune systems to common viruses.
The biggest danger istriple endemic“: the combination of respiratory syncytial virus, complaint and coronavirus. For the latter two there are vaccines and that is why they persist in taking advantage of it before it is too late with an infection that could become double and therefore very difficult to cure.
Most American hospitals are preparing special care unit for children with syncytial virus. The reason is twofold: the alarm for the increase in cases but also the increased sensitivity that follows the coronavirus you have respiratory viruses.
For example, now remember that At least 45,000 people die from influenza each year in the United States..
It is estimated that the highest incidence will be in the next eight weeks. The basic recommendation for parents is to be careful if their little ones show irritation, runny nose, cough, lack of appetite, and most importantly, difficulty breathing.
