Post-Covid ‘immune debt’ warning as babies are hospitalized with childhood virus typically seen in winter

Health experts have reported seeing increased numbers of young children and babies contracting respiratory disease as they warn the rise may be due to the lifting of restrictions on coronaviruses.

the Centers for Disaster Control and Prevention published a health advisory last month warning of the increase in the number of children who contract respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

RSV, which typically peaks during the winter months, can cause serious illness in five-year-old children and younger and older adults.

Dr Claudette Poole, a pediatric infectious disease physician at the Children’s of Alabama, said NBC News that the virus was probably “catching up” from the winter season, when most of the country was under tighter coronavirus restrictions.

“My speculation is that because we took away his normal traffic time during the winter, it kind of makes up for the time lost now,” Dr Poole said.

In most cases of RSV, the virus causes only mild symptoms similar to the common cold. But it can progress to severe bronchitis and pneumonia in young children and the elderly. Typically, it kills around 500 children under the age of five each year.

RSV activity remained low between May 2020 and March 2021, but the CDC reported that there has since been a slight increase in cases since the end of March, according to the National respiratory and enteric virus surveillance system (NREVSS), a laboratory surveillance network.

Health experts have said that reduced circulation of RSV during the winter season could mean infants and toddlers may have an increased risk of severe symptoms of RSV since they have not experienced normal levels of RSV. exposure to the virus compared to previous seasons – calling it “debt immunity”.

Immune debt can occur when people who have not been exposed to normal levels of viruses and bacteria experience an increase in infections when they come in contact with a virus.

“There weren’t as many kids in daycare because a lot of parents were out of work or working from home,” Dr Sean McTigue, acting head of the pediatric infectious disease division, told NBC News. ‘University of Kentucky HealthCare.

Respiratory disease, such as Covid-19, can be spread by droplets in the air when a person coughs or sneezes.

The United States is not the only country with a spike in RSV cases. New Zealand has also reported an increase in the number of children falling ill with the respiratory virus.

The country has reported nearly 1,000 cases of RSV in the past five weeks, according to the Institute of Environmental Science and Research.

In infants under six months of age, RSV can cause symptoms like irritability, poor nutrition, and apnea. Older infants and young children may experience decreased appetite before they have a cough, fever, and wheezing.

In the health notice, the CDC said the RSV peak deviated from a typical circulation pattern for the virus, so it was not possible for the agency to anticipate the spread, peak or the duration of viral activity.

Health experts have advised parents to closely monitor their children if they have any underlying health issues given the current peak in RSV.

Parents could also choose to have their children wear masks once school begins in the fall as an additional barrier to protect against viruses like RSV.