According to past research, JAMA Pediatrics found a significantly higher hospitalization rate for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) compared to the new coronavirus and the omicron strain of influenza.
The data was collected from tests performed on children in emergency departments in Sweden from August 2021 to September 2022 and was reported by Dr. Pontus Hedberg and researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm. .
The hospitalization rate for RSV was 81.7%, compared to 31.5% for Omicron and 27.7% for influenza.
“It is well known that RSV can be dangerous to both infants and young children, but compared to SARS-CoV-2 micron and influenza A/B in all age groups, the It was surprising to see such a large difference in hospitalization rates,” Hedberg said. He said, According to ABC News.
Intensive care unit (ICU) admission rates were low for all three diseases, but RSV had the highest admission rate. Of the 2,596 children in the study, 2.9% ended up in the ICU with RSV, compared to just 0.9% with influenza and 0.7% with Omicron.
Mortality within 30 days was also low. Two Omicron patients and one RSV patient died.
The study also found that newborns and infants up to 1 year of age were 11 times more likely to be hospitalized with RSV compared to newborns diagnosed with omicron, and children 2 to 4 years of age and children 5 to 17 years of age were 11 times more likely to be hospitalized with RSV. The infant was also found to be infected with RSV. They were much more likely to be hospitalized than Omicron patients.
The study showed that perinatal diseases, asthma, and congenital abnormalities were common in hospitalized children.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that RSV causes 58,000 to 80,000 hospitalizations and 100 to 300 deaths in children under 5 years of age each year.
The study included 896 children infected with Omicron, 426 children infected with influenza, and 1,274 infected with RSV. More than 77 percent of children infected with RSV and more than 72 percent of children infected with ohmicron were under 2 years of age. 81% of children infected with influenza were elderly.
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