Every year, thousands of children are affected by the RS virus, which has led to great concern among parents.
One of the victims was Alexandra Chiavaroli’s daughter Isolde, who was three months old at the time.
– It was terrible. I thought she was going to die.
It was at the beginning of the year that Isolde, like so many others, was affected by the RS virus. It started with her having a severe cough and started vomiting up breast milk. Then she began to breathe more and more heavily. Then the family chose to go into the hospital.
– We went in first but then we were sent back, because it wasn’t that serious yet.
But the situation with Isolde got worse so they went back inside.
– Then she had very low oxygen content, so we were admitted.
Days four and five are usually the most critical for children with RS. This was also the case for Isolde, who was forced to be tube-fed in order to get enough nutrition.
– If we hadn’t gone in, her life would have been in danger. On day four she got a mucus plug and because she was so small she couldn’t cough properly. I pressed the alarm button, the staff came running in, I sat on the floor and cried.
When Alexandra talks about it, the feelings come back.
– It was terrible. I thought she was going to die. I didn’t think she could handle another cough. She was completely purple in the face.
Fortunately, Isolde turned out well in the end. Today she is seven months old and developing as she should.
New drug should reduce anxiety
A terrible experience for Alexandra’s family. But for future RS seasons now comes hopeful news. A new drug against the virus is in the works, which is expected to see the light of day already this autumn. Pediatrician Christian Penno is among the group of doctors who, together with the Swedish Medicines Agency, are looking at the new drug. From the health care side, there are high hopes that the medicine will cause fewer children to suffer as Alexandra’s family did.
– All of us pediatricians who have been in emergency departments, and all parents, are really looking forward to a good medicine. It’s what we’ve been dreaming of. This medicine is probably quite good. The studies that exist say that there is up to 80 percent protection against being hospitalized.
It has not yet been decided who will have access to the medicine.
– We are thinking about what a reasonable strategy is. Should we give it to all babies under six months? It feels doubtful. We want to wait and see a bit.
Christian Penno hopes above all that the medicine will help relieve the burden on care when the RS season is at its worst.
– Hopefully it will give us a little more space in the hospitals and reduce the worries of parents. It is an incredible anxiety to experience that one’s child dies, and if we can reduce that anxiety, I think it is fantastic.
During the 2021-22 season, over 16,000 cases of RS virus were confirmed. 6000 of them were children between 0-4 years of age.