Immunization against RSV reduces hospitalizations in minors by 70%
According to a study by the Ministry of Health, which was carried out in four hospitals in Valencia, as well as in hospital centers in Murcia and Castile and Leon, thanks to immunization against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) Hospitalization of minors in the Valencian Community has decreased by 70%.
Thus, the results obtained demonstrate the effectiveness of a monoclonal drug used against RSV for avoid serious cases in minors, which usually leads to hospitalization. Infection with this virus is universal in childhood and is responsible for the vast majority of cases of bronchiolitis in infants, other illnesses such as persistent wheezing or pneumonia, or contributes to infection by other pathogens.
As the Director General of Public Health, Ruth Uso, explained, “in the Valencian Community We started immunization against RSV in October last year. and today there are already 28,680 children and girls – those who were treated with monoclonal drugs that protect against this respiratory virus.”
In this sense, the Director General noted that in the Valencian Community “we are going to continue to work on this.” immunization campaign to achieve maximum coverage and protect minors from possible serious cases of RSV.” For this reason, he reminded parents “of the importance of this treatment for babies. In fact, the numbers confirm this: the number of minors hospitalized with this pathology has decreased significantly.”
Currently in the Valencian Community The RSV immunization campaign targets boys and girls born on or after 1 April 2023.and will last until those born on March 31, as well as children under two years of age who suffer from any risk pathology.
In terms of coverage achieved, in the group of minors born between April and September who are immunized in health centers, the coverage is 86.78% in the Valencian Community. By province, coverage for this age group is 86.01% in Alicante, 87.51% in Castellon and 87.17% in Valencia..
On the other hand, immunization of births from October, which is carried out in hospital maternity wards, currently reaches 92.92% coverage in the Valencian Community. By province, the coverage of these minors is 92.55% in Alicante, 92.18% in Castellon and 93.34% in Valencia.
Publication in a scientific journal
This is a study published in the journal ECDC Eurosurveillance Magazinewas attended by the General Directorate of Public Health of the Ministry of Health, the Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research of the Valencian Community (Fisabio), the General Hospital of Castellón, the University Hospital of Dr. Peseta, La Fe University Hospital and the Marina Baixa Hospital.
Vaccine researcher Fisabio and project coordinator Alejandro Orrico stressed the importance of presenting this data worldwide in such a short time frame. “We worked around the clock to be able to offer them to the scientific community and can guide public health decision-making to other countries. Collaboration between autonomous communities and the support of health authorities played a key role in achieving the required sample size in record time to provide such estimates,” he explained.
Currently, RSV infection is a very important cause of disease, has a special impact on minors and appears mainly in the winter months. Therefore, it is extremely important to prevent this from happening, and to do this, the new monoclone demonstrates its effectiveness.
This monoclonal is a modified immunoglobulin that protects for approximately five months, which coincides with the length of the cold season. Treatment It works by binding the virus and preventing it from entering. inside cells, which avoids disease.