Medical Discovery News
Science permeates everyday life. Yet the understanding of advances in biomedical science is limited at best. Few people make the connection that biomedical science is medicine and that biomedical scientists are working today for the medicine of tomorrow. Our weekly five-hundred-word newspaper column (http://www.illuminascicom.com/) and two-minute radio show provide insights into a broad range of biomedical science topics. Medical Discovery News is dedicated to explaining discoveries in biomedical research and their promise for the future of medicine. Each release is designed to stimulate listeners to think, question and appreciate how science affects their health as well as that of the rest of the world. We also delve into significant biomedical discoveries and portray how science (or the lack of it) has impacted health throughout history.
Medical Discovery News
Little Recognized Virus with a Big Impact
991 Little Recognized Virus with a Big Impact
Welcome to Medical Discovery News. I’m Dr. David Niesel.
And I’m Dr. Norbert Herzog.
Among the vaccines that you normally get, RSV may not come to mind, but it should.
It stands for respiratory syncytial virus and is a common and highly contagious illness that can be serious - especially for infants and older adults. More than one hundred thousand older Americans are hospitalized each year.
RSV infects the lungs and breathing passages and is spread through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
Most people recover from RSV in a week or two, but some develop serious illnesses such as bronchiolitis and pneumonia.
The CDC recommends a single dose of an RSV vaccine for adults aged seventy-five and older, and if you’re at increased risk, sixty and older. Pregnant women should talk to their doctor about getting the RSV vaccine to protect their newborns.
But People have been slow to get it. Why? They don’t know about it, or they’ve bought into antivax misinformation. However, a major Danish study may change people’s minds.
A ten-year study of five thousand adults who had an acute RSV infection was compared with a control group. The results were striking. The RSV group was nearly three times more likely to die within a year.
The death rate was even higher for people with an underlying respiratory disease before the acute RSV infection, such as COPD or asthma.
Hospitalization rates were also sixty percent higher, especially for people with asthma or COPD. Talk with your doctor about whether the RSV vaccine is right for you or your child.
We are Drs. David Niesel and Norbert Herzog, at UTMB and Quinnipiac University, where biomedical discoveries shape the future of medicine. For much more and our disclaimer go to medicaldiscoverynews.com or listen to our podcast on your favorite podcast service.
