The RS virus can be very dangerous for children. Each year, 150 to 200 children end up in intensive care with the cold virus, says the UMC in Amsterdam. According to the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), nearly all children are exposed to the virus in their first year of life and some even end up in intensive care.
118,000 deaths a year
In the Netherlands almost no child dies from the virus, but worldwide it is the second leading cause of death among newborns, wrote the UMC Utrecht in 2020. More newborns die from malaria alone.
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UMC Utrecht: “Worldwide, it is estimated that 33 million young children are diagnosed with RSV infection every year, in more than 3 million cases following hospitalization. The virus causes 118,000 deaths among young children every year. year”.
Children’s intensive care professor Job van Woensel of the UMC in Amsterdam says the drug is expected to prevent much suffering and death around the world.
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What are the symptoms of an RS virus infection?
The complaints are usually:
Sometimes the symptoms are worse:
- suffocating,
- the fever,
- pneumonia,
- ear infections, especially in children.
Source: RIVM
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