Madrid is preparing to fight Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), one of the leading causes of lower respiratory tract infections such as bronchiolitis and pneumonia. Now, for the first time since October 1, the community of Madrid will start immunizing babies under 6 months, when the community’s director of public health confirms that the spread of the virus is expected to increase Elena Andrada of Madrid s.
This is a precautionary measure that will hopefully limit the impact of this seasonal virus, which can have lifelong sequelae in children, such as asthma.
The high number of cases registered last year has health authorities on their toes.
In 2022-2023, 3,685 children under one year of age will be hospitalized in the Autonomous Community of Madrid, 300 of whom will be admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. The highest incidence peak occurred in epidemiological week 47, with an incidence rate of 400 emergency admissions per 100,000 inhabitants. Andradas said the impact was “very significant.”
supply
With this move, Madrid, together with Galicia, became one of the first regions in the world to promote immunization against the pathogen, and one of those responding to the decision announced last March to implement preventive measures until next season. Usually occurs in autumn and winter. As Andradas detailed, “the monoclonal antibody against RSV will be administered in a single dose.”
In Spain, overall, 78% of severe bronchiolitis cases are caused by RSV and an estimated 10% of healthy children requiring hospitalization require intensive care.
Before the summer, the Directorate General of Community Public Health in Madrid took the first step by initiating the process of obtaining doses of the Niservimab monoclonal antibody to guarantee this immunization, which will be available starting October 1 and will be part of the program . Vaccination schedule.
The Autonomous Community of Madrid also has a surveillance and control program for bronchiolitis caused by RSV, which has been expanded given that RSV is a seasonal pathogen that spreads rapidly, affects the lower respiratory tract, and is a risk to infants.
Typically, a surge in case testing begins in October and peaks in December and January. However, the Directorate General of Public Health has implemented an acute respiratory infection surveillance system through its network of sentinel health centers in 2020, which has made it possible to obtain weekly epidemiological data to support decision-making in the fight against RSV. However, immunization may also be extended to adults after the European Medicines Agency approves a vaccine against the virus in the adult population. “We are very concerned about the procedures followed. If it does meet all the requirements and procedural steps required by the national health system, it could be an innovation in 2024,” explained the head of public health to LA RAZÓN.
The same would happen with the respiratory syncytial virus vaccine for pregnant women, another novelty that could also be included in the vaccination schedule, albeit “more backward”. But “we’re looking closely at all the innovations that are happening to see if we can incorporate them.”
In 2023, the meningococcal B vaccine is available for children born on or after November 1, 2022, in a three-dose schedule: at 2 months, 4 months, and 12 months. The Madrid health system also purchased 270,000 doses of the shingles vaccine this year for a total of 33.7662 million euros. From this year, people with at-risk conditions, people over 65 years old, and people between 75 and 80 years old will be immunized.
The idea is to continue the expansion, Andradas said, given that “age is a risk factor for varicella-zoster virus reactivation.” Furthermore, due to the gradual aging of the population, it is necessary to provide the necessary doses for these age groups.
Between January and April 2023 alone, 118,624 doses of vaccines were administered in Madrid, of which 76,276 were the first dose and 42,348 were the second, a significant increase compared to the previous year. The health department estimates that by the end of the year, an average of 35,000 doses of the vaccine will be given each month, 80% of which are for people over 65.
Meanwhile, the coronavirus remains one of the concerns of Madrid’s health chief, albeit to a lesser degree than in the past.
“The virus continues to spread in Madrid and around the world, but it is already endemic and not seasonal like the flu,” Andradas detailed. “Its spread is national. are under control, but there may be small waves of epidemics or variations in the number of new infections.”
The head of public health detailed that new cases detected in August rose slowly, with most being asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic. That is why the Madrid Ministry of Health has been reporting new cases in people over the age of 60, although it also registers cases occurring in primary care (85 per 100,000 inhabitants) and hospitals (3 per 100,000 inhabitants). , although 50% of them were hospitalized for COVID-19 alone, the rest were for decompensated or elderly people with other chronic diseases).
Andradas assured that there may be a small increase in the incidence as autumn approaches, but “they are mild forms that do not require hospital admission” and does not predict a spike in the number of cases. “It’s part of how viruses usually behave, in order to survive, have to mutate and potentially be more transmissible, but they’re not more severe.”
Now, as last year, it is expected that booster doses will be administered alongside flu vaccinations to the elderly, chronically ill or health professionals.
Currently, the most widely circulated variant of the virus is XBB1.5, which is part of a subline of the omicron family, and the vaccines used are focused on combating viral mutations. “Most impacts are minor and expected,” Andradas stressed.