Protecting Infants Against an Infectious Virus
January 28, 2006 | Infections
A warning for parents of infants: we’re now in high winter season for a common virus that could send your baby to the hospital. Here’s how you can protect your child.
Little Yehuda’s parents are on the alert for any little sniffle or cough.
“We started off so fragile, and his health is still fragile,” said his mother Chaya Estrin.
He was born tiny and early, and spent his first months in neonatal intensive care at the University of Washington Medical Center.
Now one illness is especially dangerous for him: a virus so common nearly every child gets it by age two. It’s called RSV, an acronym for respiratory syncytial virus.
Chief of pulmonary medicine at Children’s Hospital, Greg Redding, says the hospital expects to admit up to 500 infants with the virus this year. It can mimic a cold and it’s alarmingly simple to spread.
“The most common way RSV is spread is if you rub your nose when you’re infected and then wipe it on a hard surface, and then someone else comes along and touches that surface at least within a half hour,” Redding said.
He cautions parents of babies born full term to wash their hands often and steer clear of crowds this time of year. Also, be on the lookout for symptoms, such as rapid breathing or difficulty eating because of breathing so hard or wheezing, or non stop cough.
Because little Yehuda is more at risk of serious complications his parents are protecting him with an RSV antibody in the form of a monthly injection. He’ll receive the shots until RSV season is officially over in the Northwest.
“I feel like it’s worth it,” his mother said. “You don’t want to see your child back in the hospital even for a day.”
Babies who are hospitalized with RSV can experience wheezing up to 10 years after they’re infected. The RSV shots are expensive but they’re recommended for premature babies and others with lung or heart problems.
Local experts say we can expect the virus to be around until late April.