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 | | Monday, 28 January, 2002, 01:38 GMT Baby virus hits NHS  Premature babies can be worst hit by the virus NHS baby units are put under severe pressure each winter because of a common virus. Babies suffering Respiratory Syncitial Virus (RSV) take up 60,000 bed days across the UK over the winter months, according to research from St Mary's Hospital, Portsmouth. RSV can prove fatal in a small number of cases, but babies usually recover completely after a few days in hospital. There are ways to reduce a baby's risk of contracting the virus including keeping babies away from people with cold symptoms, but the researchers say those most at risk, such as premature babies, should be given preventative drug treatments. The drug palivizumab is available in the UK, but lack of awareness and the cost of the treatment limit its use, they say. Risk RSV infects an infant's lungs. Babies can develop a severe cough, breathe rapidly and begin wheezing as under-developed chest muscles work to try to draw air into narrow airways. If the infection becomes severe, the baby may need to be helped to breath by being put on a ventilator though that can damage a baby's fragile lung tissue.
Premature babies can be at risk if they have under-developed lungs, particularly those with low birth weight who suffer chronic lung disease. The results of the study were presented to an international conference in London on viral conditions affecting new-born babies last week. Researchers looked at 847,000 hospital admissions amongst new-born babies from 1996 to1999. Severely premature infants with RSV born up to 28 weeks stayed in hospital the longest - for an average of six days. The average national average bed occupancy is 2.5 days. Dr Richard Thwaites, the consultant neonatologist who led the research told BBC News Online: "Premature babies' risk of being admitted with RSV was more than four times higher than full-term babies." They found the 60,000 bed days at a cost of �18m to the NHS. It accounts for one in ten admissions. That makes up a large part of the pressures in the NHS in winter, say experts. It can even be the reason for cases where sick children have to travel miles between hospitals to find a bed. A study published recently also showed premature and very sick babies are 50% more likely to die if they are in busy intensive care units with too few nurses. Dr Thwaites said: "There's no question that RSV puts hospitals under tremendous pressure although the condition itself can be prevented." He added: "Preventative drug treatments are available to treat those infants most at risk. "Funding, however, is not getting through due, in part, to a lack of awareness of the condition." Dr Harvey Marcovitch, spokesman for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health told BBC News Online: "RSV has an absolutely major impact for every hospital in the country. "It is one reason why children have to be shipped from one hospital to the other to find a bed." | | See also:  Internet links: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top Health stories now:  Links to more Health stories are at the foot of the page. | ||||||||||||||||||
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