As winter approaches every year, there are many children around with colds, coughs, and fevers... These are indeed common diseases in autumn and winter, but we still have to remind parents: don't take it lightly! Because during this period, there is also a virus that has made pediatricians vigilant, and it is the "respiratory syncytial virus" (RSV).
Its early symptoms are similar to those of a cold, and it is easily ignored by parents, but it may lead to severe pneumonia in children, and the mortality rate of infants under 6 months of age is high, and there are no effective antiviral drugs and vaccines so far. Today, let's talk about the characteristics of this disease.
PART 01
What is Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)
In the pediatric outpatient clinics of major hospitals, in winter, there will be a lot of small patients with respiratory diseases. Some children are young, their faces are flushed red, their lips are blue, and when you get close, you can hear the " hissing" sound in their throats. When doctors see these symptoms, they will be highly vigilant. This is probably not a cold, but a respiratory tract infection caused by a respiratory syncytial virus infection.
The respiratory syncytial virus is an RNA virus, which is called a respiratory syncytial virus because it causes adjacent cells to fuse during cell culture, and the cytopathic changes to form a structure similar to a syncytium. It is a globally prevalent virus that causes acute lower respiratory tract infections (mainly bronchiolitis and pneumonia) in children under 5 years of age and is also the leading cause of hospitalization for pneumonia in infants and young children. It seriously threatens the healthy growth of children.
PART 02
Early symptoms are similar to a cold
Respiratory syncytial virus infection is most likely to involve the respiratory system, and there are three main pathogenic mechanisms: airway obstruction, bronchial smooth muscle spasm, and airway hyperresponsiveness.
After the infection, the children usually have cold-like symptoms in the early stage, such as fever, nasal congestion, runny nose, cough and hoarseness. Some children can progress to bronchiolitis or pneumonia, and most of these children are younger than 2 years old. After 2-4 days of illness, the cough worsens, wheezing, and if it is further aggravated, shortness of breath, nodding breathing, feeding difficulties, and listlessness may occur. Respiratory syncytial virus infection in adults has mild or no symptoms, but it can cause more severe infections in the elderly or immunocompromised patients.
PART 03
How is respiratory syncytial virus spread?
Respiratory syncytial virus is highly contagious. It is spread through droplets containing the virus when someone coughs or sneezes. It can also be present on surfaces such as counters or doorknobs, as well as on hands and clothing. So if people touch something that is contaminated, they get infected.
RSV can spread rapidly through schools and child care centers. Babies often get the infection when older children come home from school with the virus and pass it on to them. Nearly all children have had at least one RSV infection by the age of two.
Respiratory syncytial virus infection usually occurs in epidemics, lasting from late fall to early spring. Respiratory disease caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)—such as bronchiolitis or pneumonia—usually lasts about a week, but may last for several weeks in some cases.
PART 04
Immediate diagnosis and definite diagnosis are very urgent and important
Studies have shown that RSV is the most common cause of severe pneumonia in hospitalized children. However, the epidemic seasons of influenza and RSV often overlap and the clinical symptoms are similar, making it difficult to distinguish them, but the antiviral strategies of the two are completely different, and accurate diagnosis can only be achieved when the pathogen is identified.
At present, the clinical diagnosis of respiratory tract infections such as influenza mainly relies more on clinical symptoms, routine examination and rapid examination, etc., and cannot take into account the accuracy, sensitivity, speed and simplicity at the same time. Especially for high-risk groups, such as children, the elderly, critically ill patients during the flu season, and complex infections, its accuracy and timeliness are often greatly reduced. Therefore, immediate diagnosis and definite diagnosis are very urgent and important.
Hecin focuses on the diagnosis of respiratory system pathogens, and the RSV Nucleic Acid Test Kit (PCR-fluorescence probe method) developed by Hecin has already obtained the EU CE certification. The Kit has the characteristics of high sensitivity and simple operation, is suitable for the rapid diagnosis of diseases caused by RSV infection, and is compatible with the fluorescent PCR platform. The product is made into a freeze-dried powder reagent, which has strong stability and can be transported and stored at room temperature, eliminating the trouble of low-temperature cold chain transportation and storage; the operation is simple and convenient, and the operator does not need complicated manual packaging operations， detectable.
