(haipo) – In the pediatric intensive care unit at Rambam Hospital, three children, ages one, two, and six, are hospitalized, connected to an "ECMO" (heart-lung) device due to a severe winter illness.
According to the hospital's announcement, the three children suffer from underlying illnesses and were infected with various viruses, which led to a deterioration in their health to the point of respiratory failure.
One of the three children is a Jerusalemite, and in order to try to save his life, the "Pampist team" (ECMO technicians) traveled from Haifa to Jerusalem at night, to connect him to the ECMO machine and bring him to pediatric intensive care at Rambam."
Alongside concerns about their medical condition, the increasing morbidity creates a heavy burden on medical and nursing teams, who are required to deal with complex emergencies.
The viruses in question include the RSV virus as well as influenza types A and B, which can be prevented through vaccines.
In light of this, doctors are once again calling on parents to vaccinate their children.
3 children in intensive care and receiving help from an 'acmo' machine • Video
"The situation this year is particularly difficult"
Dr. Ma'in Antebi, a senior physician in the pediatric intensive care department at Rambam, noted that "Over the past week, we have been treating a variety of children suffering from respiratory illnesses related to winter illness. The three children hospitalized in our department, all with underlying illnesses, arrived with severe respiratory failure following a viral infection. These are classic cases of severe winter respiratory illness."
Latifa, a nurse in the pediatric intensive care unit at Rambam, added: "For the first time, we are encountering three children connected to the 'ACMO' machine at the same time, a situation that has never happened in our department. These children are dealing with a combination of three different viruses, which are very burdensome to their respiratory system. The situation is particularly serious this year, which is why we are once again recommending a flu vaccine, especially in light of the fact that most of the children hospitalized with us were infected with influenza types A and B, which could have been prevented with an appropriate vaccine."
"99% of children are infected with RSV by the age of two"
In an interview we conducted last year with Dr. Rotem Lapidot, acting director of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Unit at Rambam, she emphasized that "the most common winter illnesses among children are RSV and influenza. The RSV virus is especially common among young children and among patients with underlying diseases, and constitutes a significant risk factor during the winter season, which is the peak season for these viruses."
Dr. Lapidot added that "it is important to understand that almost all children up to the age of two will be infected with the RSV virus at one point or another. However, the risk of infection can be significantly reduced by adhering to basic preventive measures, such as avoiding exposing infants to sick adults, maintaining distance from sick siblings, and avoiding kissing or close contact with sick children. In addition, the unequivocal recommendation is not to send sick children to educational settings, to prevent widespread infection."
In light of the increase in winter illnesses and the growing burden on the medical system, doctors are repeatedly calling on parents to take precautions, vaccinate their children, and maintain hygiene rules, in order to prevent the following severe cases.
