Costa Rica’s National Children’s Hospital (HNN) is bolstering its admission and personnel capacities, responding to a surge in respiratory virus cases, particularly prevalent during this season.
Currently, 106 children are admitted to the HNN due to respiratory ailments, a trend persisting for nearly two months. As per HNN’s director, Carlos Jimenez’s briefing to Teletica news, the Emergency Department has seen an uptick in daily patient numbers. Historically averaging 200 patients daily over the past five years, recent numbers have soared to approximately 300 daily in the past month.
Jimenez highlighted several prominent viruses presently affecting children: human rhinovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, SARS-CoV-2, influenza A and B, parainfluenza 1, adenovirus, bocavirus, and metapneumovirus.
He attributes this spike in respiratory cases to multiple factors: the seasonal patterns of the rainy season, the overuse of emergency services nationwide, and a lapse in hygiene practices like hand washing, proper sneezing/coughing etiquette, and wearing masks in congested areas or near sick individuals.
Parents and guardians are advised to shield children from crowded locales. Moreover, children exhibiting flu symptoms should stay away from educational institutions to curb the proliferation of these viruses, emphasized the doctor.
