Respiratory virus already causes more child deaths than Covid-19

The number of deaths in children up to two years old from the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has surpassed those from Covid-19 in the last eight epidemiological weeks, according to the InfoGripe bulletin, released this Friday (26) by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz).

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In children, RSV already accounts for 57.8% of the total number of recent cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) with respiratory virus identification. Other viruses that currently affect the same age group are the rhinovirus and Covid-19.

The bulletin also highlights the increase in SARS hospitalizations, especially due to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza A and rhinovirus.

Covid-19, despite showing signs of decline and stability at relatively low levels, is still the biggest cause of SARS mortality in the elderly.

In the last four epidemiological weeks, the predominance of positive cases for respiratory viruses, in the general population, was:

Influenza A (23%)

Influenza B (0.4%)

Respiratory syncytial virus (57.8%)

Sars-CoV-2/Covid-19 (10.7%)

Among the deaths, the presence of these same viruses among the positives, in the general population, was:

Influenza A (32%)

Influenza B (0.3%)

Respiratory syncytial virus (10.8%)

Sars-CoV-2/Covid-19 (53.9%).

According to Marcelo Gomes, researcher at the Scientific Computing Program (Procc/Fiocruz) and coordinator of InfoGripe, it is important to get vaccinated against the flu and use appropriate masks for people who are showing symptoms of respiratory diseases.

“The Infogripe update continues to point to an increase in the number of new hospitalizations for respiratory infections across practically the entire country. And this is happening, at this moment, fundamentally due to the RSV virus, the respiratory syncytial virus, which hospitalizes especially young children. And, in addition, the flu virus itself, the influenza A virus, we also see a clear rise across the country”, says the researcher.

The information is from CNN Brasil