The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned in a health advisory Tuesday that respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases are on the rise in Florida and parts of the southeast.
The recommendation is intended to inform physicians, especially pediatricians, that Florida may be heading for another RSV epidemic.
The Florida Weekly reported that hospitalizations for RSV increased across Florida and people tested positive for the virus. sentinel surveillance system. It shows cases rising in 23 Florida counties, including Hillsboro, Manatee, and Hardy.
Local hospitals, including those run by Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and Baycare, are seeing more cases than two months ago, but so far the increase has been modest.
The virus spread widely in the fall of 2022, two years after the normal transmission cycle of respiratory syncytial virus and influenza was derailed by COVID-19 restrictions such as social distancing and wearing masks.
“This is a bit earlier than the typical respiratory syncytial virus season,” said Juan Dumois, a pediatric infectious disease doctor at All Children. “The pandemic has changed the epidemiology of RSV and has proven how dependent infectious diseases like RSV are on human behavior.”
RSV is an infection of the lungs and respiratory tract. The ministry said the symptoms resembled a cold with mild fever, sore throat, and stuffy or runny nose. mayo clinic.
However, it can cause more serious lower respiratory tract diseases such as pneumonia and bronchiolitis in infants under 12 months of age, the elderly, people with heart or lung disease, and people with weakened immune systems. Infants born prematurely are particularly susceptible to infection. Statistics show that about 14,000 adults over the age of 65 die from the disease each year. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
This increase comes at a time when there are some new preventive options to fight the virus.
Nilsevimab, a monoclonal antibody also known as Bayfotus, Approved by the Food and Drug Administration in July To protect infants and some young children. In clinical trials, a single intramuscular injection reduced the risk of severe RSV by 80% over a 5-month period roughly the same as the RSV epidemic, according to CDC recommendations.
Recommended for infants under 8 months of age and those at high risk for RSV aged 8-19 months.
There are also two vaccines recommended for adults over the age of 60 who have asthma and other respiratory diseases and are at high risk of hospitalization if infected.
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And on August 21, the FDA approved a vaccine called Abrysvo, developed by Pfizer. The vaccine can be given to pregnant women between 32 and 36 weeks’ gestation and protects babies from severe RSV for the first six months of life. The vaccine takes advantage of a natural process that occurs during the last trimester of pregnancy when the mother’s antibodies are shared with the baby through the placenta.
Abrysvo is expected to be available later this year.
“When a vaccine is approved by the FDA, there is often some lag between approval and clinical use,” Dumois said. “The doctor has to order it and talk to the patient.”
Autumn is also the season for influenza. Vaccine makers expect to have up to 170 million doses ready for the 2023-24 season. CDC recommend a vaccine For everyone over 6 months rare exception.
Adults over the age of 65 are recommended to receive one of the following three influenza vaccines: Fluzone high-dose tetravalent inactivated influenza vaccine, Full block quadrivalent recombinant influenza vaccine or Fluad Quadrivalent Adjuvant Inactivated Influenza Vaccine.
Covid-19 cases remain relatively low, but still higher than during the summer, according to a Florida Department of Health report. Since April, the CDC has recommended that everyone age 6 and older receive the current (bivalent) mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.
Fewer than 6 million Florida residents have received an improved vaccine that is more effective against the Omicron variant. According to state reports.
