RS virus|Prevention of RS virus infections in small children starts in October-November in Finnish maternity hospitals. Babies are given the antibody as an injection.
The summary is made by artificial intelligence and checked by a human.
Newborns are given an antibody against the RS virus during the fall.
The RS virus is the most common cause of respiratory infections leading to hospitalization in young children.
The Nirsevimabi injection protects children for the entire duration of the epidemic and is given in the maternity hospital.
Epidemics have recurred now for three consecutive autumns.
NewbornEt protected in Finland during the fall RS virus against, because the disease caused by it can be difficult for a small child.
All over the country, newborns are given an injection of an antibody that has worked well against the virus around the world and has proven to be safe.
RS virus is the world’s most common cause of respiratory infections leading to hospitalization in young children.
About 15 percent of those who are ill end up in intensive care during hospitalization.
“With small ones in infants, the infection easily spreads to the lower respiratory tract, where it causes swelling of the mucous membrane and increased secretion of mucus specifically in the small airways, which makes breathing difficult,” says the children’s infectious disease doctor Tea Nieminen From the hospital district of Helsinki and Uusimaa.
“In such a situation, the child is given supplemental oxygen if necessary and breathing is supported as needed.”
In the worst case, an infection caused by a virus can even lead to death. Deaths are very rare in Finland, however, because there is an opportunity for high-quality intensive care here.
Also, only a small part of the sick end up in hospital, Nieminen emphasizes.
RSV is a respiratory virus that can cause the flu in anyone, regardless of age.
The circulation of the virus in the population is interesting. Epidemics caused by it have usually recurred at the end of odd-numbered years. Every second epidemic peak has been milder and timed in the spring of the following winter season.
Now, however, the epidemic has been experienced in three consecutive autumns, most recently in 2023. In the autumn of 2021 and 2022, it also started earlier than usual. The rhythm of the virus was changed by the corona pandemic, during which the restriction of people’s movement generally restrained the spread of viruses.
“Excited to see when the epidemic starts this winter season. I expect it to start later than previous years, but it remains to be seen,” says Nieminen.
Now the protection provided against the RS virus is nirsevimab, which is classified as a drug. Nirsevimabi therefore works like a vaccine and provides protection against the disease, but the product is not a vaccine.
The dose is given as an injection into the muscle of a child under three months of age. One injection is enough, as the protection lasts long enough to protect the child for the entire duration of the epidemic.
Injections are given to children in the maternity hospital if the parents are ready to give them to their child, says Nieminen. It is also given to children under the age of one, if they belong to a risk group.
The antibody was already in use in several countries during the winter of 2023–2024, where it has been found to have prevented 80–90 percent of hospitalizations caused by the RS virus. Pediatric infectious disease doctors support itNieminen says.
#virus #Newborns #injections #severe #viral #infection
