NOS/Jeroen van Eijndhoven
NOS News••Amended
Children’s hospitals in the Netherlands have their hands full with young patients infected with the RS virus. Figures from the RIVM show that there is a peak in the number of infections, which is reflected in the intensive care units for children.
Still, there is no reason to panic, says Job van Woensel, head of IC at the Emma Children’s Hospital of the Amsterdam UMC. He is in close contact with the other academic hospitals in the Netherlands with a pediatric IC. “We see that the number of infections is quite high, but we can handle it.”
The RS virus usually emerges in the winter months, mainly in December and January. That is why there is now an increase in the number of infections, says Van Woensel business as usual. The difference lies in the past two years, when the peak of infections shifted to the summer due to the corona crisis.
“The lockdowns in the winter made it more difficult for children to infect each other, but they also built up fewer antibodies as a result,” explains the pediatrician. “When society reopened in the summer, children lit each other more easily.”
The Association of Nurses and Caregivers (V&VN) sounded the alarm yesterday because of the full children’s hospitals. Van Woensel acknowledges that RIVM reports many infections and hospital admissions, but he says he is not afraid of a shortage of hospital beds. “That does not alter the fact that there is a shortage of nurses in the children’s ICUs and that they therefore have difficulty maintaining capacity, but children will not die because there is no room.”
Consultation between hospitals
This afternoon, the seven academic hospitals that have a children’s IC will discuss whether measures are needed. The lines between those hospitals are short, says Van Woensel. “We consult very regularly. Sometimes we have to be creative and create places, for example by carrying out a planned operation a week later so that an extra bed remains free. Of course we only do that if the child’s situation allows it.”
The pediatrician emphasizes that the vast majority of children experience an infection with the RS virus without any problems. Only when the infection travels down to the lower respiratory tract in the chest can it lead to more serious symptoms. “The child can become stuffy and short of breath, have coughing fits and a fever. At that moment you can call the doctor. In very small babies of a few weeks old, breathing can also stop. That is also a reason to call the doctor or to go to the hospital.”