Vaccination against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV, the cause of most bronchiolitis cases) reduced children’s visits to emergency rooms in Catalonia by 77% this fall. It’s the same virus that last year around these dates filled pediatric ERs and hospitals in the area. Catalonia began, for the first time last September, vaccinating children up to six months old against this virus, hoping to reduce the admission of children by 80%. Until this year, there were no approved drugs.
Additionally, this fall, treatment in pediatric facilities for bronchiolitis was 84.5% lower and in intensive care units lower by 87.4%. More worrying this year is pneumonia diagnosed by CAPs in children under 14, which, according to Salot, may be due to Mycoplasma bacteria, which are causing an epidemic in China that is already saturating Asian hospitals.
In Catalonia, current coverage of the respiratory syncytial virus vaccine is 83.4% of minors nominated to receive it. Two and a half months later, these numbers were announced by Health Minister Manel Balcells, who yesterday encouraged families to vaccinate their children. Between October and the second week of December, hospitals of the Catalan Institute of Health (ICS) treated 258 cases of bronchiolitis due to respiratory syncytial virus in children under six months, compared to 1,118 the previous year on the same dates, meaning 860 fewer children, That is, a decrease of 77%.
Likewise, a total of 78 children were hospitalized (compared to 502 in the previous season, a decrease of 84.5%) and were admitted to 24 intensive care units (191 in the previous season, a decrease of 87.4%).
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a highly contagious virus that spreads through nasopharyngeal secretions of infected people or through droplets of saliva. Every year, it is one of the main reasons why children under the age of five are hospitalized. This year, Salut has distributed around 65,000 doses in infection control centers with paediatricians and hospitals in Catalonia to deal with respiratory syncytial virus. It will work to cover all demand for children under 6 months old and born until March 2024. The total budget amounts to 14.1 million euros.
SMS to schedule an appointment
The vaccination is carried out in health centers for children born between April and September 2023 (families received an informational SMS to request an appointment at the CAP) and in hospitals where they are born between October 2023 and March 2023 2024 before discharge from the hospital. High-risk children are also immunized before their second season.
It is estimated that respiratory syncytial virus is responsible for 80% of all nosocomial bronchiolitis cases and 25% of pneumonia cases in children under one year of age.
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