Prof. Dodi Greenberg, director of Saban Children’s Hospital in Soroka and an expert in infectious diseases, warns that the peak is yet to come. “Just this morning I diagnosed close to ten children suffering from pneumonia who were hospitalized with us. 70% of them are caused by the RSV virus.” According to him, every child up to the age of two is exposed to the virus. “20-40% of the children who contract the virus will need medical treatment, 10% of them will end up in hospital, some of them also in intensive care.”
One of the leading causes of death in the world
In the discussion held yesterday (Tuesday) in the health committee of the Knesset on the topic of preparing the health system for the winter illness, the Ministry of Health claimed that the increase this year started a little early compared to the time of year. At the Saban Hospital, preparations are also being made these days for the winter illness. “Currently we are at 90% occupancy in the wards, and I estimate that in a month or two we will even reach 130%. This means that children are hospitalized in hospital corridors,” warns Prof. Greenberg.
He also emphasizes that the RSV virus is one of the leading causes of death in the world. According to him, the number of deaths in Israel is low thanks to the developed healthcare system, but the situation may change. “We are all aware that in recent years the health system in Israel has been very challenged and is dealing with a severe shortage of personnel, which has gotten worse in the last year since the outbreak of the war because many of the staff members are recruited into the reserves, and this could certainly affect the functioning of the system.”
In a new study led by Prof. along with Dr. Guy Hazan, a pediatrician and pediatric lung specialist at Saban Hospital, head of the research center at the medical center, it was found that the chances of children contracting the RSV virus and being hospitalized as a result are much higher than the chances of being hospitalized after being infected with other viruses, among The rest have the flu. “We looked at the data of all the children at the General Hospital Fund in recent years, and tried to understand how many had the virus that required hospitalization. We found that the number of children hospitalized as a result of the RSV virus is three times higher than the total number of children hospitalized due to other diseases,” he notes.
The consequences of being infected with the virus are long-term
The study also revealed disturbing findings regarding the consequences of children up to the age of 6 being infected with the RSV virus. “The data showed that children who contracted the virus when they were young, developed asthma later in life, and in general needed more medical care in the community and visits to a lung specialist, and were even hospitalized more for lung diseases,” explains the professor.
A vaccine exists – but not for everyone
As a result, Prof. Greenberg says that the best way to treat RSV virus disease is through prevention. According to him, today the vaccine for the virus is not included in the routine vaccination program, and it is given at the health fund only to babies who are at risk in the first year or two of their lives, including premature babies and babies with congenital heart disease. Prof. Greenberg emphasizes that there is an immediate need to include vaccines in the health basket for all children, with an emphasis, as mentioned, on babies in their first year. “The winter illness among children is expected every year, and nothing will change until we act. In the last two years, new vaccines for the RSV virus have begun to enter countries around the world, such as Spain, the USA and England. The vaccine is given by injection to babies immediately after birth, and provides 90% protection for at least five months, that is, throughout the winter months.”
According to the professor, in recent years no new vaccines have entered the health basket. “In Israel’s vaccine committee, of which I am a member, very poignant discussions are held on the matter, because in recent years prophylactic vaccines have been pushed to the corner because they are in competition with new drugs to treat diseases such as cancer. We have already recommended many times to the Ministry of Health to separate the budgets between drugs and vaccines, so that one It will not come at the expense of the other.” The professor estimates that, as is the case in other countries in the world, if the vaccine is included in the routine vaccination program, it will prevent much morbidity and suffering.