According to Hanoi Children's Hospital, from the beginning of the year to now, the number of hospitalizations due to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has tended to increase. January recorded 90 cases, February had 80 cases, and in March alone, there are currently 112 cases. Notably, in the past week alone, 35 patients had to be hospitalized.
Doctors said that RSV is a common cause of lower respiratory tract infections in young children such as bronchiolitis, bronchopneumonia... The disease can circulate year-round but usually increases during seasonal transitions such as October-October and April-March.
The most common symptoms of RSV are cough and fever. Children often have a mild fever, which does not last long but has symptoms of cough and wheezing. Parents can place their ears on the child's back or chest to clearly hear the wheezing sound, especially the symptoms are usually more severe in the evening.
When the disease progresses severely, children may have difficulty breathing, rapid breathing, fatigue, loss of appetite, and lack play. RSV is common in children under 2 years old, in which the group under 6 months old has a higher risk of severe progression.
Ms. Tran Kim Thanh (Yen Nghia ward, Hanoi) said that when she saw her child develop a high fever and prolonged crying, although fever-reducing medicine was used but it did not improve, she took her child to a medical facility for examination. After that, the baby was diagnosed with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and was instructed to monitor at home.
However, after returning, the symptoms did not subside but showed signs of worsening, the family continued to take the child to the hospital and the baby had to be hospitalized for inpatient treatment.
Not only my child, when I came to the hospital, I saw many children with RSV, patients coming in and out continuously," Ms. Thanh shared.
According to Dr. Ninh Quoc Dat, Head of Respiratory Department, Hanoi Children's Hospital, RSV is transmitted through the respiratory tract, mainly through droplets, contact surfaces such as tables, chairs, door handles. Children can be infected from classmates, or from adults carrying the virus but without symptoms.
The doctor also said that if the child only coughs, has a mild runny nose, does not have a fever, still eats and plays normally, does not wheeze or have difficulty breathing, parents can clean their nose and throat and monitor at home. However, if the child coughs a lot, refuses to eat, refuses to play, has a fever, wheezes or has difficulty breathing, it is necessary to take them to the doctor immediately, do not arbitrarily buy medicine. Because RSV is a virus, there is currently no specific treatment, the main treatment is to control symptoms.
Doctors recommend that, to prevent diseases for children, parents need to maintain personal hygiene, wear masks when going out; adults when returning from work should rinse their mouths, bathe, and change clothes before contacting children. At the same time, regularly clean utensils and contact surfaces, and limit children from going to crowded places, especially during the epidemic season.
In addition, it is necessary to pay attention to nutrition, keep warm, and give children enough water to improve resistance.
Currently, there is RSV vaccine for pregnant women in the last months to transfer antibodies to children in about 6 months after birth or direct monoclonal antibodies for children with different protocols. However, vaccination is only applied to prescribed cases, not all of which need to be used.
