The New York Times reports that in addition to the rapidly increasing number of infections with the Delta variant of the coronavirus, a wave of infections with RSV, a virus that causes respiratory diseases mainly in children, has also appeared in the US. Experts are concerned because the virus usually gets worse in winter.
RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) is one of the most common pathogens and the main cause of hospitalization of young children. According to the New York Times, in some regions of the country, RSV infection rates are reaching winter levels. Many of these regions are also the sites that struggle with the greatest waves of coronavirus infections, making it difficult for local hospitals.
“After many months with zero or a few pediatric covid cases, we now see infants, children and teenagers returning to hospitals, more and more every day. We are on the verge of a huge wave of COVID, and we have the number of RSV patients at the winter level,” she wrote on Twitter pediatrician at Houston, Texas Children’s Hospital Dr. Heather Haq.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of RSV infections in many parts of the country has been increasing since June, and in July it reached its peak so far. – You’ve been facing a pandemic for the last 18 months, and then the RSV for the next few months. One thing after another is what keeps our teams busy, said Baton Rouge, Louisiana, hospital chief Dr. Trey Dunbar, quoted by the NYT. The condition is currently one of the largest COVID-19 outbreaks, and hospitals are running out of beds. A similar situation is also in Oklahoma.
The Delta variant is more dangerous to children
Dr. Uzma Hasan of Newark Beth Children’s Hospital in New Jersey told CNN on Monday that during the current wave of COVID-19 associated with the spread of the Delta variant, children are more likely to experience severe symptoms of the disease than they were from previous waves, and now account for 14 percent. . COVID patients.
– The Delta variant causes 2-3 times more hospitalizations among children than the seasonal flu, so this should give us a picture of how dangerous COVID can be, the doctor said. However, she added that this threat should not be a reason for postponing return to school in the normal course of education. She assessed that the damage to children’s development and education is too great. Some schools in the USA resumed teaching at the beginning of August. Mostly the school year will start in the second half of the month.
Main photo source: Sashenka Gutierrez / PAP / EPA