Experts analyze the impact of the RSV virus on babies in Latin America due to the rise in cases

Experts meet this Thursday to address the impact in Latin America of the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), the main cause of serious respiratory infections in children under one year of age, amid the growing number of cases in countries of the Andean region and the Southern Cone.

“EFE Salud Dialogues: Respiratory Syncytial Virus, the impact on babies and premature babies in Latin America” ​​will bring together representatives of governments, international organizations, medical associations and organizations dedicated to care to analyze the regional situation.

Among the panelists are Alejandro Cravioto, professor of Microbiology and Public Health at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM); the director of the Department of Pediatrics of the Latin American Association of the Thorax (ALAT), Lydiana Ávila, and Martha Herrera Olaya, director of the Fiquires Foundation of Colombia.

RSV is a very common cause of infection of the lower respiratory tract (bronchial tubes, bronchioles, and alveoli of the lungs) that can affect people of any age, but can be serious, especially in infants and the elderly.

Babies born prematurely, with chronic lung disease (chronic lung disease or bronchopulmonary dysplasia, cystic fibrosis), with congenital heart disease, or with immunodeficiencies are at increased risk of RSV complications and hospitalization.

Rise in areas of Latin America and the Caribbean

The meeting of experts takes place at a time when several countries in the region report an upward trend in RSV cases, according to data from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

In its most recent report on influenza and other respiratory viruses, issued on January 20, PAHO notes that although RSV activity continues to decline in the United States, cases are increasing in Jamaica, Guatemala, Brazil, and Chile.

Meanwhile, in the Andean countries, RSV activity has generally remained low, but with an increasing trend.

RSV has been part of a wave of respiratory viruses called “tripledemia” in recent months, a simultaneous uptick in cases of covid-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus.

See also:

RSV, the “tripledemia” virus that puts babies at risk in America

Measures to protect babies

A study published in The Lancet confirmed that the respiratory syncytial virus was responsible for more than 100,000 deaths worldwide in children under 5 years of age in 2019, and 97% of the deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries.

For this reason, today’s meeting, which can be followed on YouTube at https://youtu.be/VvT_SO4CFsk from 11:00 a.m. local time in the eastern United States (4:00 p.m. GMT) and will be moderated by journalist Glenda Umaña, aims to educate about RSV and inform about preventive alternatives.

Although there are no vaccines approved by any regulatory authority, there is a drug that reduces hospitalization rates.

It is a monoclonal antibody (palivizumab), an artificial protein that acts on the immune system, and is a technology approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency.

Palivizumab reduces hospitalization rates by preventing “severe RSV disease in certain infants and children who are at high risk”, such as those born prematurely, with congenital heart disease or bronchopulmonary dysplasia, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Source: EFE