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Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is an enveloped RNA virus that shows a thread-like (filamentous) to spherical structure under an electron microscope. It causes respiratory infections worldwide, especially in winter, and leads to the fusion of infected respiratory cells.
Picture: Keystone/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH via AP
Headaches, aching limbs, tiredness - just before the start of spring, people complain of similar symptoms. FOPH data now shows: A certain virus is currently leading the way in Switzerland.
Many people are currently complaining of persistent headaches, coughs or sore throats - and are wondering what is behind these symptoms. This is shown by Google search results for illness terms such as "fever" or "listless".
According to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), one possible reason can be found in wastewater, where the aquatic research institute Eawag regularly takes samples for the federal government and analyzes them for pathogens. Because the latest analyses show: The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is currently circulating more frequently than influenza and coronaviruses.
As FOPH spokesperson Simon Ming explains, RSV is currently being detected more frequently across the country, both in wastewater monitoring and in the so-called Sentinella reporting system used by GPs. Unmonitored pathogens could also be involved, which makes the situation diffuse.
The FOPH uses the wastewater analyses as a kind of early warning system. It recognizes changes in the genetic material of the viruses and can show when a variant is less easy to detect. According to the FOPH, the costs for national monitoring currently amount to around CHF 1.2 million per year. The FOPH sees this as an important tool for identifying developments in the population regardless of testing behavior and reacting to changes at an early stage.
According to Medbase, however, doctors' surgeries are not alarmed: "There are no unusually high numbers of upper respiratory tract infections at the moment. The number of colds is in line with the time of year," says Dr. Stefan Maydl on request. However, the symptoms often vary at the moment. Some of those affected have no typical cold symptoms, but have headaches or aching limbs and are clearly exhausted.
RSV is usually mild in healthy adults - with a cold, dry cough, slightly elevated temperature and tiredness. Infants, small children and elderly and immunocompromised people are particularly at risk. In them, the virus can cause severe infections of the lower respiratory tract, which sometimes even require hospital treatment.
According to Medbase, a clear distinction between RSV, influenza and Covid-19 is hardly possible in GP practices. The symptoms overlap greatly and an exact pathogen identification would not change the treatment in most cases. "In practice, treatment is therefore usually supportive - i.e. in such a way that the symptoms are alleviated, regardless of which pathogen is responsible," writes Medbase.
