FW: HOSPITALIZATION RATES OF INFANTS WITH RESPIRATORY INFECTION INCREASING

[Guest guest]

Dawn's Personal 2 Cents:

Keep in mind as you read this that RSV most likely comes from polio

vaccines, both OPV and IPV. RSV was isolated in the same rhesus monkeys

that both of these vaccines are propagated on. Dr. Viera Sheibner's book

talks about this and gives references. Gee, it's just a real big mystery

as to why the hospitalization rates for this are up, isn't it? 20

dollars says " they " never even attempt to look at the incidence of RSV

in UNVACCINATED children!!!!! ~Dawn

Mike Belkin wrote:

http://www.ama-assn.org/sci-pubs/sci-news/1998/pres_rel.htm

HOSPITALIZATION RATES OF INFANTS WITH LOWER

RESPIRATORY INFECTION

INCREASING

Rates more than double from 1980 to 1996 for

children less than 1 year

old

CHICAGO — Rates of hospitalization for infants with

bronchiolitis, a

childhood lower respiratory infection that is

characterized by wheezing,

have increased substantially since 1980, according

to an article in the

October 20 issue of The Journal of the American

Medical Association

(JAMA). K. Shay, M.D., M.P.H., of the National

Center for

Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention in

Atlanta, and colleagues analyzed the U.S. National

Hospital Discharge

Survey from 1980 to 1996

of children younger than age 5 who were hospitalized

in short-stay

hospitals for bronchiolitis. The researchers

analyzed the data to

describe rates of bronchiolitis-associated

hospitalizations and to

estimate current hospitalizations

associated with respiratory sincytial virus (RSV)

infection.

The study found that during the 17-year period, an

estimated 1.65

million hospitalizations for bronchiolitis occurred

among children

younger than 5 years. The hospitalizations accounted

for 7 million

inpatient days, and the median length of stay was

three days per

hospitalization. Of these hospitalizations, 81

percent occurred among

children younger than 1 year and 57 percent among

children younger than

6 months. As expected for an illness associated with

RSV infection,

bronchiolitis hospitalizations peaked annually

during the winter months,

usually in January and February.

Among children younger than 1 year, annual

bronchiolitis hospitalization

rates increased 2.4-fold, from 12.9 per 1,000 in

1980 to 31.2 per 1,000

in 1996. During the study period, infant

hospitalization rates for

bronchiolitis increased significantly, while

hospitalization rates for

lower respiratory tract diseases excluding

bronchiolitis did not vary

significantly. The researchers estimate that 51,240

to 81,985 annual

bronchiolitis hospitalizations among children

younger than 1 year were

related to RSV infection during 1994-1996.

The most dramatic rise in hospitalizations occurred

among children

younger than 6 months, for whom bronchiolitis

hospitalizations increased

more than two-fold (a relative increase of 239

percent) from 1980 to

1996. " Our study is the first to examine temporal

trends in

bronchiolitis hospitalizations and estimate RSV

-associated

hospitalizations by using nationally representative

data, " the authors

write. " Our finding that bronchiolitis

hospitalizations have increased

substantially during the 17 years studied was not

expected. "

The researchers write that the study findings

suggest the current number

of RSV-associated bronchiolitis and pneumonia

hospitalizations among

infants is approximately 1.5 to two times greater

than previously

estimated. The researchers suggest a number of

factors that may be

responsible for the increase. Potential reasons for

the increase include

trends in childcare practices, changes in the

criteria for

hospitalization of children with lower respiratory

tract disease,

decreasing mortality among premature and medically

complex infants at

high risk for RSV-associated hospitalizations,

changes in RSV strain

virulence, modifications in the National Hospital

Discharge Survey, or

alterations in diagnostic coding practices during

the study period.

According to information cited in the study, RSV is

the most important

cause of lower respiratory tract infections among

infants and children

worldwide. These infections most often manifest

themselves as

bronchiolitis. Almost all children have been

infected with RSV before

they are 2 years old. Although children are likely

to become reinfected

throughout their lives, their initial RSV infection

is the most severe

and most likely to involve the lower respiratory

tract. Severe RSV

disease, as gauged by admission to the hospital, is

most common among

infants aged 1 to 3 months. The authors add that a

safe and effective

RSV vaccine is needed to reduce bronchiolitis

hospitalizations.

(JAMA. 1999;282:1440-1446)

Note: Consumers can read the JAMA Patient Page

related to this article

on the AMA's Web site.