What is RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus), how is it transmitted, and what are the symptoms?

Spreading between November and March, the RSV outbreak can lead to pneumonia, middle ear infections, and upper respiratory tract infections in children.

Experts state that premature infants and children with heart and lung diseases are at risk from RSV and that parents should be cautious against RSV.

HOW IS RSV TRANSMITTED?

RSV is transmitted from person to person through contact. Using items contaminated with the infectious agent facilitates transmission. Because it is not active in aerosols, transmission via droplets is limited.

The disease develops between one to two days and one week after the virus is contracted.

Infants hospitalized with RSV spread the virus to their surroundings for up to 21 days. Natural immunity develops after infection, but it is not sufficient, and one can become ill again.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF RSV?

• RSV infection often begins with cold symptoms such as fever, runny nose, cough, and malaise.
• In premature infants and other high-risk groups, more severe symptoms appear on the third and fourth days of the illness.
• The virus spreads to the lung tissue, blocking small airways and leading to bronchiolitis, wheezing, shortness of breath, fatigue, abdominal pain, and feeding difficulties. This condition can progressively worsen, causing respiratory failure and becoming life-threatening.
• As the infection worsens, the infant begins to use abdominal muscles for breathing, the muscles between the ribs begin to retract, the nostrils flare, and the respiratory rate increases because the infant cannot breathe adequately and is suffering from air hunger.
• The infant makes a whistling sound while exhaling and refuses to feed because they are suffering from air hunger and cannot feed properly. At the same time, their lips begin to turn blue.
• This life-threatening situation requires emergency intervention and the hospitalization of the infant for treatment.