RSV: #LittleLungs – RSV in preterm and high risk infants

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is a virus that causes infections of the lungs and airways. It commonly appears during the coldest and wettest months of the year, similarly to the influenza virus. In adults and older children the symptoms are commonly mild, with cold-like symptoms such as rhinitis or coughing.

However, if more vulnerable patients – such as preterm infants or those with heart disease or lung disease  – are infected with the virus, they may develop a severe lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) such as bronchiolitis or pneumonia. These complications often lead to hospitalisation or admission to the neonatal intensive care unit, and sometimes mechanical ventilation. In particular, preterm infants and infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia and haemodynamically significant congenital heart disease are at increased risk of severe RSV infections.  If they get an infection, they tend to get sicker than most children do and may need to stay at the hospital for treatment.

RSV is one of the leading causes of childhood hospitalisation and therefore one of the focus topics of EFCNI. If you want to join us to raise awareness for this common yet often unknown or underestimated lung disease, please support our campaign “#LittleLungs – Help protect babies from RSV ” and download and share our materials on your social media channels and website!

Voices of RSV – Different perspectives on RSV

We interviewed parents of preterm and high risk babies and asked them about their personal experience with the RS virus. In addition to these parents’ voices, healthcare professionals also have their say and report on their daily work and challenges with RSV infections, especially in preterm infants.

Watch our compilation of these different perspectives on RSV. What they all have in common is the urgent desire for a sustainable prevention solution in order to help protect babies from RSV.

A heartfelt thank you goes out to everyone who shared their story with us!

If you would like to get a quick overview of RSV, download our compact factsheet! It provides easy-to-understand information on RSV at a glance. Here you can learn for example…

• which group of children is at risk for a more severe RSV infection?
• what are the most important risk factors?
• how is the virus transmitted?
• what simple hygiene rules can largely reduce the risk of infection?

The harmless onset of an RSV infection with mild cold-like symptoms can sometimes develop into a severe course of illness. The very smallest and most vulnerable babies, such as preterm infants and those with a pre-existing conditions, are at significantly higher risk of severe infections which may require medical support and hospitalisation.

This #LittleLungs animation is designed to help you better understand what RSV symptoms can look and sound  like in real life, from the very first mild signs to the really serious symptoms of severe RSV disease, so that you can recognise them early and more easily if you notice similar symptoms in your own baby – especially if they are at increased risk. Severe symptoms may inlcude:

–  wheezing and rattling sounds
– spreading of nostrils with every breath (nasal flaring)
– caving in of the chest at the ribs (retractions)
– rapid and troubled breathing, and apnoea (breathing stops)
– bluish colour to the lips and fingernails (cyanosis)

After a day of fruitful discussions, the key points for improvement were identified and agreed . The position paper was developed and finalised in August 2019 and officially launched at the 3rd Congress of joint European Neonatal Societies (jENS) in Maastricht in September 2019.  One year later, in December 2020, an updated version with an extended list of prophylaxis guidelines from 33 countries was published again.

You can have a look at the experts’ common call to advocate for preventive measures to reduce the number of RSV infections:

Download position paper