(Press-News.org)
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of respiratory infections, particularly in infants, children under 5 years, and older adults. Its rapid spread makes RSV a serious public health concern. Currently, there are no effective medications for RSV, and current treatment focuses on providing supportive care and preventing its spread.
In a recent study, authors from the Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing Medical University, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Beijing Children's Hospital China, provide a comprehensive review of RSV’s virology, clinical impact, and prevention strategies. The review, published in the Chinese Medical Journal, highlights the urgent need to develop safe and effective vaccines to mitigate this critical health need for infants, children, and older adults at risk.
RSV, the causative factor behind respiratory infections, is a virus made of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and proteins that allows it to latch onto and invade healthy cells. These proteins are the key targets for developing vaccines and treatments, though they can evolve over time. Once RSV hooks onto a cell, it changes its shape, injecting its genetic code to take over and spread its infection. “RSV’s most essential surface glycoproteins are the G and F proteins, which play crucial roles in virus attachment to host cells and cell fusion and are vital transmembrane proteins on the virus surface,” says the authors. Once inside the host cells, the virus multiplies rapidly, spreads to other cells, and disrupts the immune response, leading to inflammation, mucus buildup, and lung damage. Long-term complications of RSV infections include an increased risk of asthma.
Although RSV can affect people of all ages, it is most severe in infants and older adults above the age of 75 years. The disease burden is particularly severe in low and middle-income countries, where RSV causes high hospitalization and mortality rates. Countries such as China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Pakistan account for majority of the global cases of RSV-associated acute lower respiratory infection. Infants born prematurely or with pre-existing conditions like bronchopulmonary dysplasia, Down syndrome, and congenital heart disease are at higher risk of RSV infections than the rest. RSV frequently goes undetected in adults due to delayed symptoms and irregularity in testing. Older adults, especially those with pre-existing health conditions, face complications such as pneumonia, respiratory failure, and even heart failure. It is essential to tailor healthcare services and immunization strategies to local conditions, as RSV circulates seasonally—peaking in winter in temperate regions and during rainy seasons in tropical areas. In most parts of China, RSV typically circulates from November to March, while regions closer to the equator experience longer and less distinct RSV seasons.
During the pandemic, efforts to curb the epidemic of SARS-CoV-2 had significantly reduced the RSV infections. This led to a change in its seasonality and distribution across the various age groups. However, after the COVID-19 pandemic, RSV resurged again, even surpassing its previous levels. “RSV has a wide range of pathological impacts that extend beyond the respiratory system, potentially affecting multiple organs and leading to various complications. In terms of respiratory complications, potential issues include respiratory failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome, pulmonary consolidation, and atelectasis” highlights the authors. RSV also affects the cardiovascular system, triggering premature heart beats and potentially leading to heart failure. It also affects the digestive system, causing symptoms that range from vomiting and diarrhea to severe intestinal injury.
Although some studies showed that ribavirin and interferon have a certain degree of efficacy in certain populations, there is currently no specific drug for respiratory syncytial virus. Vaccine development began since 1960s but faced setbacks. However, with technological advancements, new vaccines and monoclonal antibodies targeting specific age groups and health conditions are emerging. Two monoclonal antibodies designed for infants, palivizumab and nirsevimab, along with three vaccines for older adults, namely RSVPreF3, RSVPreF, and mRNA-1345, and one vaccine for maternal populations, RSVPreF, have been authorized for use in certain regions. This marks a significant breakthrough in the prevention of RSV.
“Concurrently, emphasis should be placed on elevating the awareness of professionals and the public regarding RSV infection and the value of vaccination,” concludes the authors. At the individual level, using masks, ensuring clean air conditions, and maintaining hygiene like frequent hand wash, should be followed. At the wider community level, dissemination of information regarding public health, setting up dedicated wards for RSV patients, and quickly assessing outbreaks while following health protocols are crucial steps to curb the virus.
Reference
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/cm9.0000000000003354
END
Scientists have discovered a way to remove toxic compounds from potatoes, making them safer to eat and easier to store. The breakthrough could cut food waste and enhance crop farming in space and other extreme environments.
Potato plants naturally produce chemicals that protect them from insects. The chemicals, called steroidal glycoalkaloids, or SGAs, are found in high quantities in the green parts of potato peels, and in the sprouting areas. They render the potatoes unsafe for insects as well as humans.
"These compounds are critical for plants to ward off insects, but they ...
The war in Ukraine is causing hunger thousands of miles from the battlefields, according to a study released today.
Nearly three years of war in the “breadbasket of the world” has left croplands destroyed and forced laborers who grow, harvest and process a bounty of wheat, barley and oats to flee. Combined with export bans from other countries, ripple effects resonated through global trade and upended food supply systems.
But understanding how far those disruptions reached, who suffered and who gained has been difficult. Researchers at Michigan State University’s Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability (CSIS) lead a unique effort, relying ...
TORONTO, December 20, 2024 — The unspoken rule for women of colour in academia is to be everything to everyone – mentor, diversity champion, tireless scholar, and silent workhorse, says York University equity studies Assistant Professor Yvonne Su in her recent paper published today in Nature Human Behaviour.
“We are expected to carry the banner of inclusion, but we are not truly included. Inclusion, as it’s currently defined, is about optics, not transformation,” observes Su in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies. “It’s about showing diversity on the surface ...
Leuven, 20 December 2024- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease that affects motor neurons. The average life span after diagnosis of this incurable disease is two to five years. In the relentless pursuit of understanding the cause of motor neuron death, scientists from KU Leuven and the VIB Center for Brain and Disease Research have identified an intriguing new lead: tiny, antenna-like structures 0n cells called primary cilia. Their study, published in Brain, could open a potential new avenue for therapeutic development.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s ...
The aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) system, which uses geothermal heat as a renewable energy source, is one of the solutions to reducing fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emission. This system stores heat underground in aquifers, using groundwater as a heat medium. The heat is then extracted as needed according to the season to efficiently heat and cool buildings.
Its use is mainly expanding in Europe, and its widespread introduction is expected in Japan. However, regular inspection is required to utilize ...
A brotherly research duo has discovered that when the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) produces top quarks – the heaviest known fundamental particles – it regularly creates a property known as magic.
This finding, published in Physical Review D, has implications for the progression of quantum computing, with magic being a measure that describes how difficult a quantum system is for a non-quantum computer to calculate.
“The higher the magic, the more we need quantum computers to describe the behaviour,” explains Professor Martin White, from the University ...
Researchers at the University of Adelaide have discovered that a protein which mediates the transport of alkali metal ions, such as potassium, and halides ions across plant membranes acts similarly to a protein found in animals.
The protein is a cation-chloride cotransporter (CCC), and these are present in all cellular life forms. Some CCCs are able to transport two types of ions, both potassium and halide chloride, while others can also transport a third – sodium.
The selectivity of plant CCCs has been controversial, and it was previously understood ...
Communities up and down the West Coast of the United States can expect the potent storms known as atmospheric rivers to evolve as the climate warms. But residents in Southern California will see much different changes than residents in more northerly locations like Seattle.
New research, led by scientists at the U.S. National Science Foundation National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF NCAR), found that warming conditions will increase evaporation of ocean waters and significantly alter atmospheric rivers to the south. Farther north, however, atmospheric rivers will be most influenced by rising temperatures in the ocean and atmosphere.
While ...
Newly published results from a 2021 experiment led by a University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist have begun to reveal the particle-level processes that create the type of auroras that dance rapidly across the sky.
The Kinetic-scale Energy and momentum Transport experiment — KiNET-X — lifted off from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on May 16, 2021, in the final minutes of the final night of the nine-day launch window.
UAF professor Peter Delamere’s analysis of the experiment’s results was published Nov. 19 in Physics of Plasmas.
“The ...
Patience — like its corollary impatience — has always been a sort of “I know it when I see it” concept. And that didn’t sit well with UC Riverside psychology researcher Kate Sweeny.
“Philosophers and religious scholars call patience a virtue, yet most people claim to be impatient,” Sweeny said. “That made me wonder if maybe patience is less about being a good person and more about how we deal with day-to-day frustrations.”
For purposes of her research, Sweeny sought to better define what constitutes patience, and impatience, and the factors that determine them.
Impatience, ...
