Syncytial virus immunization reduced hospitalizations among minors by 70%

VALENCIA (EFE). A Ministry of Health study carried out in four hospitals in Valencia, as well as in hospitals in Murcia and Castile and Leon, shows that thanks to immunization against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) The number of hospitalizations of minors in the Valencian Community has decreased by 70%..

The results thus show the effectiveness of the monoclonal drug used against RSV to avoid serious cases in minors, which usually lead to hospitalization, according to sources from the Generalitat.

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 the Ministry of Health explained, Ruth UsedIn the Valencian Community, immunization against RSV began in October last year, and to date 28,680 boys and girls have been treated with the monoclonal drug that protects against this respiratory virus.

In this sense, the Director General noted that in the Valencian Community “we are going to continue working on this immunization campaign in order 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. Actually, this is confirmed by the numbers: the number of minors hospitalized for this pathology has decreased significantly.

Currently in the Valencian Community The RSV immunization campaign targets boys and girls born on or after 1 April 2022.

3, and will last until those born on March 31, as well as children under two years of age suffering from risk pathologies.

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, the immunization of births since 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.

This study, published in the journal ECDC Eurosurveillance, involved 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 Director General of the Castellón Hospital, the Doctor Peseta University Hospital, the 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.