STOCKHOLM, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) — Swedish experts have warned of a tough respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) season this winter in the country as the number of infections has increased recently.
– Right now there are quite a few children being cared for with RSV, says Malin Ryd Rinder, head of the children’s intensive care unit at Astrid Lindgren’s children’s hospital.
She told Dagens Nyheter (DN) on Sunday that the RSV season started in the country already a few weeks ago and that it could be a tough time ahead.
AnnaSara Carnahan, epidemiologist at the Norwegian Public Health Agency, shares the same concerns about the virus.
– There is a risk that there will be an extensive spread of infection among groups of children at, for example, preschools, says Carnahan.
At Astrid Lindgren’s children’s hospital in Stockholm, there are approximately 20-25 children infected with RSV, of which four have received intensive care.
Last year, Sweden reported 6,800 RSV cases among children under the age of four, including 244 people who received intensive care, DN reported.
RSV is a common respiratory virus that generally leads to mild respiratory symptoms. However, it can lead to serious illness among infants and the elderly and is a leading cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in infants, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
Source: sn.dk