As respiratory syncytial virusThe virus, also known as RSV, continues to surge across the United States, and experts warn people can be infected multiple times.
Dr. Aaron Gratt, director of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital in Long Island, New York, told Fox News Digital this week:
A second infection immediately after a recent episode is unlikely. Still, you can be infected multiple times, especially during the same season. immunocompromised children And older adults, said Glatt.
Since the RSV-NET began collecting pediatric data in October 2018, the weekly rate of RSV hospitalizations is now much higher than in the previous four seasons and the weekly peak rate across all pediatric age groups. is higher than Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) he told Fox News Digital.
RSV-NET reports surveillance of recent laboratory-confirmed RSV-related hospitalizations in children under 18 years of age and adults.
A blood sample showing respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). A CDC spokesperson said, “Compared to his fall of 2021, when the epidemic pattern of RSV was unusual, the current infection rate is even higher.
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A CDC spokesperson said, “This timing is also unusual, as we don’t normally see hospitalization rates this high in October and November.”
“The current infection rate is even higher than it was in the fall of 2021, when RSV epidemic patterns were unusual.”
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“Certainly, RSV is usually found in the winter, so weather plays an important role in its endemism,” added Glatt, who is also a spokesperson for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
“But wherever RSV is, you can get it in any weather, it’s really a winter disease,” he said.
Why is the number of cases soaring?
“Before 2020, the seasonal pattern of RSV in the United States was very consistent,” the CDC said on its website.
“However, the circulation patterns of respiratory syncytial virus and other common respiratory viruses have been disrupted since the start of the epidemic. COVID-19 Pandemic Early 2020,” the agency added.
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“CDC is now publishing weekly admission rates for laboratory-confirmed RSV hospitalizations as determined through the RSV-NET sentinel monitoring system,” a CDC spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
“Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, the circulation patterns of RSV and other common respiratory viruses have been disrupted.”
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“RSV hospitalization rates are highest in children [who are less than] Although only 6 months old, there is also an increase in hospitalization rates for older children compared to previous seasons. “
Many people focus on people at high risk for RSV, such as premature babies, young children with heart defects at birth, and people with chronic lung disease. weakened immune system.
“About two-thirds of children hospitalized with RSV are actually healthy, normal children.”
But these patients make up only one-third of hospitalizations, said James H. Conway, Ph.D., pediatric infectious disease physician and medical director of immunization programs at UW Health Kids in Madison, Wisconsin. .
“About two-thirds of children hospitalized with RSV are actually healthy, normal children,” said Conway, who is also a professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
This transmission electron micrograph reveals the morphological features of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in 1981.
(Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
Adult RSV hospitalization rates are also on the rise, with “the highest adult hospitalization rates among those 65 and older,” said a CDC spokesperson.
However, the most recent 2-week RSV-NET data are prone to reporting delays, so care must be taken in interpreting the data.
Why are some people infected more than once?
“We have known for decades that immunity from naturally occurring respiratory viruses is poor for most respiratory viruses (rhinovirus, parainfluenza virus, RSV, etc.). I got
“That’s why people can get these infections over and over again.”
Also, like influenza, it is possible to be infected with various strains of RSV.
A child can actually be infected with more than one RSV, according to experts. Like influenza, RSV has multiple strains.
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“Like influenza, there are multiple strains of RSV, hence RSV-A. [strain] And then there’s the RSV-B [strain] — just like the flu [type] A and influenza [type] B,” Conway told Fox News Digital.
“Even if you have one type, people can get it multiple times because cross-protective immunity is only partial.”
Once the virus enters the body, it is often difficult to prevent infection.
Our immunity contains multiple components, including different types of antibodies. This includes antibodies circulating in the bloodstream to circulate foreign invaders and secretory antibodies, says Conway.
“There is a part of the immune system that is basically responsible for grabbing things. [the virus and] “This is important” [to] It’s in your immune system” and “This is what we really need to deal with.”
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But once the virus has already entered the body, it is often difficult to prevent infection, he added.
The next time a person is exposed to a virus, the immune system remembers it and “aligns” its T-cell arsenal to neutralize the virus.
The first RSV vaccine for the elderly in the United States may soon become available.
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“However, as a temporary measure, [the immune system] Take your B cells turn on a bunch of circulating antibodies and grab these viruses and pull them out of this circulation [perhaps] Before they cause disease,” Conway said.
Vaccines available for the elderly
Conway said the United States could have the first RSV vaccine for the elderly by next fall.
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Multiple companies, including Pfizer, GSK and Janssen, have RSV vaccines in the final stages of clinical trials in adults, or older adults, according to multiple reports.
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“Baby protection with monoclonal antibody injections is already available for high-risk premature babies, and a long-acting version for all children is coming soon,” Conway added.
