2023-09-25 19:49:00
The alerts for a new outbreak of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in Mexico were raised this Monday, following Dr. Sarbelio Moreno Espinoza, from the Children’s Hospital, warned that the cases in Chile can be replicated in the Mexican Republic.
According to the expert, it is expected that in the next cold season there will be more cases of syncytial virus in Mexico, which worries health authorities because there are limited resources in health centers.
“What happens in the Southern Cone is a thermometer for us of what is going to happen in the northern hemisphere. Always having limited health resources can affect us, but we are aware that it is going to be tough,” he stated.
In Chile, between June and July, a health alert was activated due to the high hospital occupancy of syncytial virus cases, since something similar had not been recorded in recent years.
What is Respiratory Syncytial Virus?
According to medlineplus, a specialized health site, the syncytial or syncytial virus is the most common microbe that causes infections in the lungs and airways in babies and young children.
This infection can occur in people of all ages; However, this virus affects older adults and newborns more, mainly premature babies and those with lung or heart problems since birth.
The infected person is most contagious in the first week following infection. However, in babies and people with weakened immunity, the virus may continue to spread even following symptoms go away, for up to four weeks.
How is Respiratory Syncytial Virus spread?
The virus spreads through tiny droplets that go into the air when a sick person blows their nose, coughs or sneezes. It also spreads quickly in multi-person households and in daycare centers.
The virus can live for half an hour or more on hands and can also live up to 5 hours on counters or several hours on used tissues.
People can be infected if:
A person with the virus sneezes, coughs, or blows their nose around other people. If a person touches, kisses, or shakes hands with someone infected with the virus. Also if they touch their nose, eyes, or mouth following having touched something contaminated by the virus, such as a toy or a door handle.
What are the symptoms of Respiratory Syncytial Virus?
The symptoms of syncytial virus can vary and differ with age, therefore, according to medlineplus, the signs that infected people may present are:
They usually appear 2 to 8 days following contact with the virus. Older children almost always only have moderate, flu-like symptoms, such as a barking cough, nasal congestion, or low-grade fever.
Babies younger than 1 year may have more severe symptoms and often have the most difficulty breathing:
Blueish skin discoloration due to lack of oxygen (cyanosis) in more severe cases Difficulty breathing or dyspnea Nasal flaring Rapid breathing Difficulty breathing Whistling sounds
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