RSV in under 5 minutes

Discovered in 1956, also called human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) and human orthopneumovirus.

• Orthopneumovirus consists of pathogens that target the upper respiratory tract; found among sheep, cows, and most importantly humans.

• leading cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in infants and children worldwide under the age of 5.

• Transmission through droplets and aerosols, live for up to 25 minutes on contaminated skin and several hours on other surfaces

• Incubation 2 to 8 days, contagious for 3 to 8 days, may continue to spread for up to 4 weeks

• F proteins on the surface of the virus cause neighboring cell membranes to merge, creating large multinucleated syncytia

• antigenic subtypes, A and B: RSV subtype A (RSVA) is thought to be more virulent than RSV subtype B (RSVB), with higher viral loads and faster transmission time.

Treatment

• Viral specific: prophylactic use of palivizumab is also available to prevent RSV infection in high-risk infants.

• Ribavirin is the only antiviral medication currently licensed for the treatment of RSV in children, although its use remains controversial

• currently there is no vaccine

• Supportive: 02 ; nebulizes hypertonic saline, Heliox (reduces airway resistance within 1st hour of treatment),

S/S children

• mild, self limitting (upper airway) | nasal congestion, cough, low grade fever

• sever form (lower airway) | bronchiolitis, viral pneumonia, croup. subcostal retraction, intercostal retractions, grunting, and nasal flaring.

• Only about 25% of infected adults will progress to significant lower respiratory tract infection

Names, dates, and personal identifying details have been changed throughout this website to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). ** | This website runs on coffee. Thank you for supporting this journey!