A child infected with Adenovirus is being treated in Hanoi-based National Children’s Hospital. (Photo: National Children’s Hospital) According to the hospital’s statistics, from August 1 to September 12, thehospital recorded 412 children infected with Adenovirus, more than the totalnumber of infections last year and up more than 44% compared to the same periodin 2021.
Notably, since the beginning of the year, there have been six deaths ofchildren infected with the virus.
In the week from September 5 to 11 alone, the hospital registered 151 new casesof the virus, an increase of nearly 2.2 times compared to the previous week.
According to Associated Prof. Dr. Le Thi Hong Hanh, director of the hospital’sRespiratory Centre, Adenovirus is divided into seven groups from A to G, ofwhich there are more than 50 types causing diseases in many organs of the humanbody.
The most common illnesses caused by Adenovirus infection are upper and lowerrespiratory tract infections, eye conjunctivitis or pinkeye, gastrointestinaldiseases including diarrhoea, vomiting and nausea, cystitis, encephalitis andmeningitis, the doctor said.
The diseases caused by Adenovirus appear all year round but especially thriveat the time of seasons changing such as from spring to summer or autumn towinter.
Adenovirus is transmitted by droplets of respiratory transmission betweenpeople. The disease can also be transmitted through mucous membranes whenswimming or contaminated water used in daily life, or transmitted when healthypeople share personal items with sick people.
The incubation period is about eight to 12 days.
Adenovirus can cause illness in all ages, with children between the ages of sixmonths and five years the most common.
Inparticular, subjects such as children, the elderly and people with chronicdiseases often have a high risk of infection with this virus due to weakresistance.
“Adenovirus has the ability to spread quickly in the community and cause manydangerous complications if not treated promptly, such as respiratory failure,sepsis and multi-organ failure,” Hanh said.
“Thediseases can also leave long-term complications, affecting the health ofchildren including post-infectious bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome,bronchiectasis and pulmonary fibrosis," the doctor said.
Dr. LeKien Ngai, head of the hospital’s Infection Prevention and Control Department,said that the hospital set up a surveillance system for infectious diseasesmany years ago.
“Therefore, right from the middle of August, we realised the trend of thenumber of patients coming to the hospital for examination and treatment causedby Adenovirus increased rapidly and was different from the usual practice,”said Ngai.
“There is currently no vaccine against the virus in Vietnam. Therefore, thebest way to control the spread of the disease is early detection, vigilancewith clinical and epidemiological factors so as not to miss testing as well asadhere to routine preventive measures and comply with vaccinations for relateddiseases,” the doctor recommended.
Children infected with Adenovirus often have symptoms such as high fever,cough, and wheezing, which may be accompanied by conjunctivitis and digestivedisorders. Children with severe symptoms will have difficulty breathing.
Childrenwith suspected symptoms will be tested to support the diagnosis with bloodtests, chest X-rays, and tests to determine the cause with Real-time PCRmethod.
The test is performed on patient samples taken from respiratory fluid todetermine the virus and virus type. The results are 95-99% accurate, the doctorsaid.
Meanwhile, paediatrician Nguyen Trong An said that pneumonia or a respiratorytract infection caused by Adenovirus is an acute illness.
Symptoms of Adenovirus pneumonia are easily confused with other respiratoryviral pneumonia, usually in children six months to five years old.
Symptoms are likely to turn severe in children who are malnourished, childrenwith poor health conditions or have other underlying diseases.
Older children are less common and nearly 100% of adults have antibodiesspecific to many types of the virus, the doctor said.
In healthy children, with good nutrition, the disease can go away on its own,but in patients with underlying diseases or poor resistance, it can causerespiratory failure.
Therefore,parents must bring children to health care establishments immediately if thechildren get high fever, have difficulty breathing, rapid breathing, vomiting,chest tightness or signs of fatigue, warned the doctor.
“It is necessary to disseminate information about the virus to increaseawareness for people to prevent virus from spreading out and protect children'ssafety,” said the doctor.
However,we should not exaggerate the danger of Adenovirus infection to avoid a wave offear among the people, especially parents, he added./.
VNA
