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Incidence And Impact Of The Tripledemic On South Florida

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Incidence And Impact Of The Tripledemic On South Florida

A respiratory virus is circulating across Florida and other areas of the country apart from the flu and Covid forming the tripledemic.

This situation is putting health experts and doctors in a panic. According to the reports obtained many small children are infected by this Respiratory Syncytial Virus or RSV which produces the symptoms of the common cold.

Even though the virus passes without causing many symptoms other than tiredness and fatigue in elders and older children, it puts children below 5 and those who have a weak immune system at severe risk of infection.

Effects Of The Tripledemic On South Florida

According to the words of the pediatric doctor who specializes in lungs, Dr. John Prpich of St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, there is an increase in the number of patients being hospitalized due to RSV infection when compared with the previous year. As a result, more kids are being shifted to PICU due to RSV bronchitis. 

Incidence And Impact Of The Tripledemic On South Florida

Another pediatric doctor and leading professor of the University of Florida College of Medicine, Dr. Shelley Collins, says that even though this drastic increase in the number of patients is not notified by UF health, there is a high increase in RSV patients in the country. 

The hospital in the country faced a drastic increase in the number of patients in September. According to the report collected by the Florida Department of Health, the number of patients especially children who visited the emergency room due to RSV in September was the highest than ever.

Infants and children under 5 caused by RSV are likely to experience a lowered appetite as the first symptom of the virus. They will develop a cough and symptoms of cold 3 days after showing the first symptom.

Some of them even show symptoms like continuous sneezing, wheezing problems, fever, and so on. Younger infants affected by RSV might show reduced activeness, irritability, difficulty in sleep, etc which might put them on the edge of danger.

The health experts say to observe the appearance of bluish-gray coloration on the lips and the skin around the lips which is a sign of extreme emergency when the patient is not receiving the oxygen required by the body. 

When RSV is coupled with covid and flu it is termed a Tripledemic which is a combination of three types of viruses at the same time. The tripledemic situation is causing confusion among health experts and doctors as they find it difficult to identify the virus to treat them effectively.

As the three viruses are attacking the patients simultaneously, it is putting patients to fall ill and tired which is often making the hospitals overflow. 

The Respiratory Syncytial Virus was diagnosed in a patient in the year 1956 and was considered a common illness in childhood times which goes away without causing much harm to the body.

But when these viruses when combined along with the cations of the viruses might put you in severe conditions, especially for small children. 

The viruses of this illness are capable of causing inflammation in the bronchiole of the lungs which causes difficulty in breathing in children under 1 year.

>Related: A Spike In RSV Cases Among Children Is Being Watched By Local Health Officials

Many health experts say the main reason for the uplift of the RSV is the lockdown during which the people are shielded from the viruses and once all of them are outside they are affected by the virus due to their lowered immunity. 

According to the experts, it is not possible to manufacture vaccines for this virus instantly as it is a time taking process and so the only way to stay away from the virus is to stay self-shielded from the germs and viruses by washing hands thoroughly and staying home if you feel any symptoms of the virus.

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