The Pediatric Day Hospital and Newborn Plant of Parc Taulí has started immunization against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) to newborns before hospital discharge and to children up to 24 months at high risk of infection for severe RSV.
RSV is a highly contagious virus that spreads with the nasopharyngeal secretions of infected people through saliva droplets, constituting one of the main causes of hospitalization in children under 2 years of age.
RSV infection can have various clinical manifestations, from banal or inconspicuous upper respiratory tract symptoms (common cold), to episodes of bronchiolitis or pneumonia in infants that are usually more severe during the first months of life. It is estimated that RSV is the virus responsible for 80% of all cases of hospital bronchiolitis and 25% of pneumonia in children under one year of age, accounting for 30-35% of hospital admissions both on the floor as in the pediatric ICU during the fall and winter seasons.
Pediatric professionals hope that this season's immunization will reduce the risk of complications and admissions for RSV bronchiolitis and/or pneumonia in children under 2 years of age.
Leave a Reply