(CRHoy.com) In recent weeks, news of the National Children’s Hospital (HNN) overcrowding due to respiratory viruses has been constant.
Dozens of children go there with health problems due to infection with various viral agents of this type.
The Costa Rica Social Security Fund (CCSS) reported that currently, as a result of the rainy season, the most circulating viruses are primarily rhinoviruses; then parainfluenza; in third place is influenza and, finally, respiratory syncytial virus.
What are each of them and who do they affect the most? CRHoy.com explains:
Let’s start with the root cause of most respiratory infections right now: human rhinovirus. It is a genus of viruses of the family Picornaviruses.
According to doctors, rhinoviruses are the most common pathogens in humans, being pathogens cold. There are over 110 serotypes of this virus that can cause symptoms.
“The common cold is usually caused by a virus, such as the rhinovirus,” explained Sebastian Villalobos Rojas, specialist at the National Center for Drug Information (Cimed) at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Costa Rica (UCR), in his report. Few words.
Children are often the most vulnerable. (illustrative image).
Most people are aware of the signs and symptoms of a cold. Your child’s cold may start with a runny nose that looks like a clear liquid. Subsequently, the discharge thickens and usually becomes brown, grayish or greenish in color. These are the normal colors seen when a child begins to recover from a cold.
Very similar to this, it is the second most contagious: human parainfluenza viruses.
They are the ones that commonly cause upper and lower respiratory infections in infants, young children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems.
Of course, anyone can get infected, experts warn.
Symptoms usually appear 2 to 6 days after infection, and are very similar to the symptoms of a cold:
- Heat
- runny nose
- Cough
- sneezing
- Sore throat
However, they can also cause other symptoms such as: ear pain, irritability, loss of appetite.
In minors, this type of virus can cause serious illnesses such as bronchitis, bronchiolitis or pneumonia, doctors say.
At the same time, the third place in cases is occupied by flu, that is, in simple terms, the usual flu. According to the UCR expert, the flu has a number of symptoms that in most cases appear suddenly.
“With influenza, the fever is intense, it can exceed 38 ° C. and are accompanied by chills and sweating. In addition, there is significant muscle or body pain, extreme fatigue, nasal congestion, severe headache, sore throat, pronounced dry cough, and in some cases even gastrointestinal discomfort or nausea. It depends on the virus,” he said.
Vaccination of children (Taken from the Internet)
Subtypes currently circulating in Costa Rica A(H1N1) and A(H3N2). In order to prevent them from becoming infected, the Foundation runs a vaccination campaign aimed at people at risk, such as children from 6 months old, the elderly, or people aged 7 to 57 with underlying medical conditions.
As soon as During incubation, influenza usually develops for almost two days. For its part, the duration of the disease is from 3 to 7 days, which depends on the state of the human immune system and these background pathologies.
And last but not least: respiratory syncytial virus. In fact, this should be something that parents and caregivers of young children should pay close attention to.
Pediatricians explain that this is one of many viruses that cause diseases of the respiratory system, that is, diseases of the nose, throat and lungs, but with the peculiarity that it is more dangerous for children under 2 years old.
Many of them come to the hospital with serious complications. National Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Olga Arguedas, director of this pediatric medical center, explained that respiratory syncytial symptoms last an average of 5 to 7 days and initially cause a cold, which may be followed by bronchiolitis or pneumonia.
“Chikitos classically begin with the common flu: runny nose, bouts of general condition, subfebrile condition. In the next 72 hours, they begin to show an increase in breathing rate and breathing that sounds like chest tightness or whistling,” he explained.
