2024-01-31 15:42:50
In this series we describe the six most important cold viruses and explain what makes them so special.
When some chimpanzees came down with a cold in 1956, people wondered where they had become infected. They lived in captivity, so how could this have happened? It turned out that her guard, who had a cold, had infected her with a special virus: the respiratory syncytial virus. Especially because it was unknown until then. Today even laypeople know it, especially by its abbreviation RSV. It is feared by many parents because it can make young children particularly seriously ill. Right now again: a wave of RSV infections has been rampant since the end of November. For most children, the illness is a harmless cold, but some have to go to the hospital, often with shortness of breath. In particular, premature babies and children with previous lung and heart diseases have an increased risk of a severe course. Premature babies because they did not receive sufficient nest protection from their mother, i.e. not enough maternal antibodies against RSV were passed on to them during the shortened pregnancy. The virus is usually transmitted through the air, but it survives on objects for a long time and can also infect people through them.
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