CNN
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The respiratory virus season begins early this year, A flooded child hospital Many parts of the country use respiratory syncytial virus, known especially as RSV.
However, adults can also get RSVs. RSVs usually don’t send that much Adults go to the hospitalit can be a serious and even fatal disease for the elderly and those with underlying health conditions.
And as more children are gaining RSV, adults are more likely to be exposed. Some doctors say they are beginning to see an increase in adult patients.
Approximately six of the 100,000 seniors have been hospitalized with RSV this season. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US. This is significantly lower than the proportion of children, but is still characteristically higher. In the years before the Covid-19 pandemic, hospitalization rates for seniors were about 10 times lower at this point in the season.
Dr. Anne Foredy, professor of infectious diseases at the University of Rochester Medical Center Research is published Although he said that RSVs were somewhat higher in the summer and early fall of last year, the US had not seen the usual proportional increase in RSVs for older adults at the time.
“I think the elderly were more cautious last year to continue public health measures such as masks and social distancing. “But this year, we’re all paying attention to the wind, so we’re doing it on RSV. I’m starting to see him end up in the hospital again.”
Too often, RSVs fly under adult radar, she said. Many people, even doctors, overlook the impact on adults.
“They think it’s strictly a pediatric illness, but if you don’t test it, you’ll never know that someone is actually sick,” Foredy says. I did.
In the US, we track viruses like RSV Not so thorough Because of Covid-19, it is difficult to know exactly how many adults get sick with RSV. The number of RSV cases comes from self-reports sent to dozens of labs representing only about one-tenth of the population, and reports are shared with the CDC.
Based on the best estimates, there are 10,000 to 15,000 adult deaths in the United States each year, and about 150,000 hospitalizations with RSV, Falsely said.
2015 Survey Of the elderly in developed countries, the burden of RSV disease is “substantial,” he said, and it calculated that about 14.5% of the 1.5 million adults who caught RSV were admitted to hospitals. Those aged 65 and older were more likely to be hospitalized than those aged 50 to 64.
“If you compare it to flu A, it’s not that late,” Foredy said.
RSV It will be displayed to adults Same for children. It looks like a cold and includes runny nose, reduced appetite, cough, sneezing, fever and wheezing. Symptoms usually last for a week or two, then they are cleaned up with rest and liquid.
However, in some adults, RSV can be dangerous as it can lead to more serious illnesses such as dehydration, difficulty breathing, pneumonia and bronchitis, and inflammation of the small airways of the lungs.
Adults at the most severe risk of severe RSV outcomes are adults over the age of 65. virus It may spread soon Just like Covid-19 and the flu, through nursing homes or long-term care facilities.
Adults with weakened immune systems should be wary of the RSV season. This includes cancer, transplant patients, HIV patients, and people taking certain drugs that suppress the immune system for diseases such as clones, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Adults with chronic heart or lung disease, such as asthma, COPD, and heart failure, are also more likely to have to go to the hospital if they catch RSV.
Infected individuals can pass RSV through coughing or sneezing. If respiratory drops land on a surface like a doorknob or desk, and someone else touches it and touches the face, they can get sick.
It also spreads because healthy adults often don’t know that they have it. Usually, it doesn’t cause fatigue like the flu or covid, so many adults go to work, jump on planes or buses, leading to allergies. It expands even further when they interact with others.
RSVs can also be easily spread from children to adults.
If you are coughing or have other RSV-like symptoms and are in a high-risk category, you should go to your doctor and check out, says Dr. Daphne-Dominique Villanueva.
“We can’t test everyone right now. In an ideal world, we want to do that, but we want to focus on vulnerable people,” Villanueva said. Assistant Professor School of Medicine at West Virginia University, who wrote research on RSV.
The doctor’s office has swab tests that allow you to determine whether the illness is influenza, RSV, or community.
There are certain antiviral agents for influenza and Covid-19, but not RSV. Even excluding RSVs is that the trick is to be tested early. Starting covid or flu antiviral agents immediately reduces the time of illness and prevents the virus from moving towards something more serious.
With RSV, treatment is what is called supportive care. Drink lots of liquids. Get some real rest. Stay home so you don’t spread it out. Wear a mask around other people in your home.
If you start wheezing and start holding your breath, you said that they are clear signals that you should either see a doctor or take him to the emergency room immediately. Hospitals can provide supplemental oxygen if necessary.
There is no protection against RSV vaccines, It will be changed by next season. In the US there are four RSV vaccines that may be approaching FDA reviews, with over a dozen testing. Some are designed to protect babies, while some have been tested in older people.
“We have very limited ways to handle it effectively, so we should do whatever we can to prevent it from getting it in the first place,” Villanueva said.
Protective measures during this busy RSV season sound familiar. Wash your hands frequently, disinfect surfaces, and wear a mask in busy spaces.
“You might want to postpone that visit for a week to see your grandchildren, or you might want to wear a mask if you’re going to a crowded place,” Falsey said. “Masks and hand washing work. I know people are beyond that, but you know you’re a frail person or you know you have a fundamental medical condition. Then, when we know that RSV is on the rise, you should do those things and actively pay attention to sick children. It all helps.”
