Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Infectious disease physician Doctor Jennifer Yan says more than 40 kids have been admitted to NT hospitals with RSV this month

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Infectious disease physician Doctor Jennifer Yan says more than 40 kids have been admitted to NT hospitals with RSV this month · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: I mentioned a little bit earlier on the show this
• 0:01
  Speaker 1: morning that we have heard that there've been quite a
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: number of people with RSV. Now exactly what that is
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: or joining us on the line to explain the condition
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: and tell us a little bit more about it is,
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: Doctor Jennifer Yan. Good morning to you, Doctor Yan.
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: Hello, good morning.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: Can you hear me?
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: Yes?
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: I can, thank yeah, Thanks so much for your time
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: this morning, Jennifer. What exactly is RSV?
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah, So RSV is a is a viral infection that
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: affects the respiratory tractor. It stands for respiratory sensicial virus,
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: which is quite a difficult name to say, which is
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: why most people just call it RSV. But it is
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: a virus that we are familiar with. We do see
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: it every year, just like the influenza virus. It's not
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: a new virus like COVID nineteen and so.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: Have we seen a bit of a spike in the
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: Northern tiret in recent weeks?
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: You're right, we definitely have, which is unusual for sure.
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: Normally we see RSC cases throughout the year in the
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: Northern Territory, which is different to some of the southern states.
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: In Australia where often now have RSP spikes over the
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: winter months when lots of children get many more costs
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: and colds. But it's been particularly bad for us in
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: the Northern Territory just this last month or so. In fact,
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: we've had over forty admissions to the Children's woods just
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: in September so far, and that's a lot of children
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: with severe respiratory infection, it is.
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: And is it mostly kids that are that are impacted, Yeah,
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: it is.
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: I mean, if my voice is founding a little bit
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: horse to you, that's because I've recently had RSC. I've
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: been testing to COVID because I work in the hospital,
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: so I found out what I had that was causing
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: my lerg you. Whereas most of the time it is
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: one of those things that we don't test for in
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: adults when we get a coffin cold. But the problem
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: is not so much for us but for the little ones,
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: particularly children aged under two and those at the smaller,
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: younger ends of the spectrum, because it doesn't just cause
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: their head congestion and all the nasal stuffiness and the
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  Speaker 2: runninos and cough, but it can cause inclamation lower down
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: in their airways, too and cause a condition called bronchiolitis,
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  Speaker 2: which is inclammation of the bronchiolds or the small airways
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: and the lungs. So that's what lands the little ones
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  Speaker 2: up in hospital. Yeah, small airways get inflamed, it becomes
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: difficult for them to breathe, and so some babies need
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: oxygen or they need additional help to support their breathing
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: because they get so tired working so hard to breathe. Also,
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: some of them, because they're so blocked up, they find
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: it difficult to feed and so get dehydrated. And those
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: are the main reasons why we have children in hospital
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: with RSP and fiction.
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: Oh, it sounds like it would be absolutely terrible and
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: such a difficult time for you know, for those little
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  Speaker 1: ones that do end up with RSV and parents as well.
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: I know, there is there's nothing worse than when when
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: you've got a little one who is that unwell. Yeah,
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: Jennifer had said forty admissions. Was that over that month
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: long period or what period of time was that?
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: That's just in September to date.
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: Well, so what causes RSV, you know, what sort of
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: causes it all or what makes us potentially what makes
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: our little our children more susceptible.
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: Yeah, look, it's it's just one of those viruses, just
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: like you can catch costs and colds and other things.
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: But it does seem to be that there's been an
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: unseasonal spike in at the moment, and we're not really
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: sure exactly why that. We think it's not necessarily due
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: to it being a particularly nasty strain per se, but
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: maybe more that there's more people who haven't been exposed
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: and more of the little ones who haven't been exposed
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: to RSC over the last couple of years because everyone's
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: been really good, you know, during COVID times, and so
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: there's more intents who don't have immunity, so they're all
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: actually getting it at the same time. And I caught
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: mine from my eight months old in daycare. So I
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  Speaker 2: suppose there are those sorts of things that because that's
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: how you catch it, yeah, others coughing or sneezing, and
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: those are the really good things that we can do
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  Speaker 2: to prevent catching it. Actually is all the same sort
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: of measures that we did really well to prevent a
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: spread and transmission of COVID nineteen. Staying home when you're sick, Yeah,
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: covering your mouth when you're coughing, staying a bit of
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: distance away from others, and yeah, that's that good hand
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: hygiene with washing your hands frequently.
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: Oh, Jennifer, it's so hard when the kids are little
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  Speaker 1: and when they get sick like that, and you know,
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  Speaker 1: we teach them at childcare and everywhere else sharing is caring,
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  Speaker 1: but when they share their lark it's the worst.
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: Oh.
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  Speaker 1: Yes, Now, what do parents need to know? Because I
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: know recently one of my girlfriends, her little baby did
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: have RSV her one year old, and it's so tough
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: for people. What do parents need to know?
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: Yeah? Hers and mine too, So I was putting all
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: of this into practice myself. So the common symptoms of
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: RSV are the same as any other cough and cold
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: virus initially, and that there's a bit of cough, running
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: nose patsa and fever. Children often vomit when they're unwell
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: and it doesn't mean anything specific, but when it might
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: become an issue is particularly for the smaller babies and
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: children under the age of two, the signs that it's
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: starting to affect the lower airways and maybe that it's
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: causing that bronchiolartest type infection is if it looks like
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: the little ones are having more difficulty breathing, so that
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  Speaker 2: bottom part of the rib cage sucking in because they're
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  Speaker 2: using so much effort to breathe, breathing up really fast,
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  Speaker 2: being much more lethargic and floppy or irritable, not waking
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  Speaker 2: up to feed or not able to feed as much
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  Speaker 2: as they should be, and not having as many wetnapp is,
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  Speaker 2: the sorts of things that would make most parents worried.
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  Speaker 2: If you're really worried, then head off to the emergency department.
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  Speaker 2: But otherwise, actually, most kids, even when they get bronchio larders,
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  Speaker 2: are able to be managed really well just at home
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  Speaker 2: and don't need hospital at all. In fact, that's a
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: check in with the family doctor GP is really worthwhile.
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: Well, that is really good advice, and doctor Jennifer yan,
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: I hope that you you're eight months old and everybody
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: else sets impacted at the moment by RSV recover quickly.
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: It does sound like it's really nasty for the little ones,
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  Speaker 1: but as you've said, they're keeping a really close eye
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: on them and taking them to the GP if required
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: is certainly a good thing to do.
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Yeah, that's right. I hope everyone stays well a
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: little bit of Panado and Europe and doesn't go Astralia.
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: I've got to say, hopefully you recover quickly.
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: It's so hard when the kids are that little because
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: they seem to get crooked all the time. Will they
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: bring home every germ that they pick up when they're
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: at childcare as well, which makes it tough.
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: Yes. Yeah, we've been on the continuous stream of the
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: same Yeah. Is one of the ones that can potentially
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: be a little bit nast Yeah, in that way.
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I really appreciate you giving us some more info
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: about that and letting listeners know what they need to do,
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: because I know that there are a lot of parents
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: of little ones that listen to the show. So doctor
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: Jennifer Yan, thank you so very much for your time
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: this morning.
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: You're very welcome.
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: Thank you,