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WVU Experts Instrumental In Approval Of New RSV Prevention Medication

Medical experts at West Virginia University are excited about the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of Beyfortus as a major advancement to prevent RSV.

Dr. Lisa Costello is an assistant professor in pediatrics at WVU. She said most kids will get RSV in their lifetime.

“For most kids, it’s like a cold, they will have a stuffy nose, cough, there’s a lot of secretions that people get with RSV,” Costello said. “However, for some individuals, RSV can land them in the hospital, and there are certain groups of children who are at higher risk.”

Dr. Mark Polak is a professor of Pediatrics at WVU School of Medicine. He and a team of physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses and pharmacists in the WVU Pediatric Research Unit participated in three pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials.

“In you and I, we’ve seen RSV so many times that our bodies are strong enough to kind of, like, keep it as a common cold,” Costello said. “But in babies who have an immature immune system, the virus can go from the cold down into the trachea, where it causes bronchitis, or even down into the lungs and causing pneumonia.”

Polak said that while there are similar drugs on the market, Beyfortus can last longer in the body than the typical month antibodies usually last.

“We have a new monoclonal antibody, that isn’t degraded in a month,” Polak said. “It actually may last, I think the latest data is at least 150 days.”

Local families allowed their infants to join the projects, which provided critical data on the safety and efficacy of the monoclonal antibody to prevent severe RSV.

“The results were actually spectacular,” Polak said. “It really made a huge, huge difference in not only preventing hospitalizations but preventing and decreasing the need for families to take their kid to see the doctor.”

Polak said RSV was pervasive last winter and hopes Beyfortus can help families avoid long-term symptoms.

“The CDC is predicting another bad winter for RSV, so this is very timely, that it’s been approved,” Polak said. “And, you know, we’re keeping our fingers crossed that we get it out there. Not just in a high risk population, but every baby who’s less than a year old.”

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.

Health Officials Sound Alarm Over Respiratory Infections

Health officials from the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department are reporting an uptick in numbers of respiratory infections in Kanawha Valley.

With more people out shopping for the holidays and an earlier than usual flu season, health officials say the chances of falling ill from a respiratory infection are high.

Kanawha-Charleston Health Department Health Officer Dr. Steven Eshenaur said with Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), COVID-19 variants and flu filling up hospital beds, people should get vaccinated against both COVID-19 and flu.

With RSV, people with compromised or undeveloped immune systems can develop severe infection, including pneumonia.

Eshenaur said along with COVID-19 boosters and flu vaccinations it’s important to remember simple preventative measures like handwashing and, for the immune compromised, to avoid contact with large groups of people.

In West Virginia only 21 percent of people aged 65 and older had received a bivalent vaccine as of Nov. 5, 2022. The CDC reports that nationally, 6465 people were admitted to hospital for influenza during the week ending Nov 5.

Dr. Mike Robie, associate chief medical officer with Charleston Area Medical Center Health System said the elderly and young are the most vulnerable to disease and infection. Facilities like CAMC Women’s and Children’s Hospital continue to feel the strain.

“There are 19 kids currently admitted this morning with RSV,” he said. “The major symptom most of those kids are having is increased mucus production, a lot of congestion, that is what ends them up in the hospital, the need to have constant suction.”

Robie said five children were also admitted for influenza – a number doctors called problematic this early in the year.

Robie said hospitals are feeling the pressure and many are making transfer requests where needed.
But, with COVID-19, he said the situation has almost become the norm over the past two years.

“We have amazing nurses that just step up and take care of these kids and our community,” he said. “Without those nurses supporting our operations, we’d be in a lot of trouble.”

As RSV Numbers Rise, State’s Pediatric Bed Capacity Fills Up

Children's hospitals in neighboring states are experiencing a spike in Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) cases, and hospitals in West Virginia expect to quickly follow suit.

Children’s hospitals in neighboring states are experiencing a spike in Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) cases, and hospitals in West Virginia expect to quickly follow suit.

The virus is a common, but contagious virus that infects the respiratory tract. Symptoms include a runny nose, decrease in appetite, and a cough that can progress to wheezing.

West Virginia Health Association President and CEO Jim Kaufman said the states’ three main children’s hospitals are reporting a noticeable uptick in numbers.

Kaufman said WVU Children’s Hospital in Morgantown, Charleston Area Medical Center Women and Children’s Hospital and Hoops Family Children’s Hospital in Huntington are all feeling the strain as pediatric hospital bed capacity fills up.

“Right now the latest numbers I have is that 90 percent of our pediatric intensive beds are full,” Kaufman said. “So we still have some capacity; however, we are very concerned about the uptick in which you are seeing around the country, and we do know that likewise it’s the same for West Virginia.”

Kaufman said the state currently has 4200 staffed adult hospital beds, 350 staffed pediatric beds and approximately 125 pediatric ICU beds.

He said hospitals are trying to free up resources by deferring non-emergency procedures that require an in-patient stay, and moving older children to adult units where appropriate to free up beds where possible.

As hospitals try to anticipate needs, he said they are communicating and coordinating with other children’s hospitals and health providers, including out-of-state facilities.

Kaufman said with West Virginia’s pediatric hospitals facing both bed and staff shortages, it’s critical the public does their part to help hospitals facing an influx of very young patients.

“That is why we are asking everyone if they are able to get a flu shot and their covid booster to please do so,” Kaufman said. “Some people will say, ‘Oh – I can still get the virus,’ that’s true, but you’re less likely to be hospitalized, and that’s a critical part, making sure that we have that capacity for patients who need it.”

W.Va. Prepares For Increase In RSV

Cases of a respiratory illness, known as RSV or Respiratory Syncytial Virus, are climbing rapidly around the country.

Cases of a respiratory illness, known as RSV or Respiratory Syncytial Virus are climbing rapidly around the country.

West Virginia health officials said they are preparing for a possible surge in numbers, especially over the holidays.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said cases of RSV have already reached 2021 levels.

Most people who get an RSV infection recover in less than two weeks. But those with compromised or undeveloped immune systems – including the elderly, young children and babies – can develop severe infection, including pneumonia.

Former state Health Officer, Dr. Ayne Amjad, said while cases are not spiking yet in West Virginia health officials anticipate higher numbers over the colder months.

“Especially since we are seeing a trend of increasing data across the country and other states,” Amjad said. “Maryland is the closest one to us with elevated cases, so WV tends to be a little later as we don’t have a large population but that is safe to say we should be on the lookout anticipating we follow suit with other states of cases that they are seeing.”

Amjad said with more children in daycare than over the previous two years, the health department is starting to hear from physicians who are seeing RSV symptoms in their patients.

Those symptoms include nasal drainage, a decrease in appetite, coughing, sneezing, a fever or wheezing.

Amjad said mitigation efforts during the coronavirus pandemic, including mask wearing and hand washing, likely lowered exposure to RSV. Infants and toddlers with underdeveloped immune systems are now struggling to fight off the virus.

She advised parents to call their pediatrician immediately if they suspect RSV.

Monongalia County Health Officer and director of the Monongalia County Health Department, Dr. Lee Smith, said he’s actually noticed an increase in the incidence of RSV in a higher age group the past two years.

“The number of college aged kids and in urgent care the number of adults continues to be a growing trend,” he said.

Lee said prior to COVID-19, by the age of two, most of the pediatric population has had a case of the virus.