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Canada should anticipate a resurgence of a childhood respiratory virus as COVID-19 physical distancing measures are relaxed, authors warn in
Cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) have risen sharply in Australia and, more recently, the United States as COVID-19 case counts have waned and pandemic public health measures have been relaxed. Respiratory syncytial virus affects the lower respiratory tract and can cause serious illness and death. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, about 2.7 million children worldwide were infected with RSV each year, and it was the fourth most common cause of death in young children.
"The off-season resurgence in seasonal respiratory viruses now potentially poses a threat to vulnerable infants," writes Dr. Pascal Lavoie, BC Children's Hospital Research Institute and the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, with coauthors.