Diane Macdonald | Stockbite | Getty Images
Even healthy infants face a substantial risk of hospitalization for respiratory syncytial virus, according to a large European study released Thursday.
Dutch and British scientists found in a study published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine that 1.8% of healthy infants were hospitalized with RSV before their first birthday. This means that one in 56 healthy infants is hospitalized with the virus each year.
Dr. Louis Bont, one of the study’s authors, emphasized that the incidence of hospitalization for RSV in healthy infants is about twice what researchers expected.
Scientists have found that the majority of infants hospitalized with RSV are less than 3 months old. About 1 in 18 infants hospitalized with RSV required intensive care unit care.
RSV is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. However, in infants younger than 6 months, it can lead to lung infections, requiring hospitalization and possibly ventilatory support.
Scientists followed more than 9,000 healthy newborns to at least their first birthday at five sites in Spain, Finland, England, Scotland and the Netherlands.
Of the 145 healthy babies hospitalized with RSV, 8 (approximately 5%) required intensive care unit care and 3 (2%) required mechanical ventilation.
Bont said the findings underscore the importance of bringing to market a vaccine that could significantly reduce the amount of illness in infants and reduce the pressure on children’s hospitals.
The European Medicines Agency this month approved an antibody called nirsevimab, developed by AstraZeneca and Sanofi, to prevent RSV-associated lower respiratory tract disease in newborns and infants.
Developed by Pfizer Single-dose vaccine given to pregnant mothers To protect newborns from serious disease caused by RSV. Clinical trials have found it to be approximately 81% effective in preventing severe lower respiratory tract disease in babies within 90 days of life.
Pfizer plans to submit an application to the Food and Drug Administration by the end of 2022 for approval of the vaccine in the U.S.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost every region in the United States has seen a significant increase in RSV cases among children. About 77% of children’s hospital beds are occupied by her RSV and flu surge, according to Department of Health and Human Services data.
CDC recommends that parents seek immediate medical attention for their child if they see any of the following warning signs: ), or not alert or interactive when awake.
Symptoms of RSV include a runny nose, loss of appetite, and a cough that progresses to wheezing. Infants almost always show symptoms, but for infants under 6 months, these symptoms can be more subtle, according to the CDC. RSV does not always cause fever.
Irritability, decreased activity and appetite, and pauses in breathing are all signs that an infant may have RSV, according to the CDC.
