Nowadays it's much rarer for young children to be hospitalized for severe infections than it was even a decade ago. Still, almost 2.5 million infants are admitted to the hospital each year due to infections, and if children up to age 5 are included, the number of infection-caused hospitalizations soars to 4.5 million annually, according to a recent report in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
Luckily, most serious infections are preventable, experts say. Vaccines have helped to dramatically reduce the numbers. Simpler measures, such as soap and water, are also tremendously effective at removing even scary bugs like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. To protect your child from a surprise hospital stay, watch out for the pathogens most often responsible for pediatric admissions:
Rotavirus
Just a few years ago this severe diarrhea and dehydration-causing virus was a real menace, landing more than 50,000 infants and young children in U.S. hospitals annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since 2006, however, hospitalizations have dropped by 45 percent, thanks largely to the arrival of two vaccines—RotaTeq and Rotarix—and the agency's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' recommendation that children be immunized. After helping cripple the virus's threat, Rotarix hit its own snag in March when bits of pig virus unexpectedly showed up in the vaccine, prompting the Food and Drug Administration to advise suspending its use. In May, however, the agency deemed the vaccine safe and gave doctors the go-ahead to again administer Rotarix, which is given orally in two doses versus RotaTeq's three. Alas, vaccinated kids can still catch the virus. But those who do usually have a much milder infection than unvaccinated children, says Robert Baltimore, a professor of infectious and bacterial diseases at Yale University School of Medicine. The vaccines are recommended for babies between 2 and 6 months old.
Streptococcus pneumoniae
This bug, which can lead to life-threatening meningitis and deafness, is the most common bacterial cause of pneumonia. But pneumococcal infections have become a lesser danger among children in the U.S. since 2000, when vaccination with the Prevnar or PCV7 vaccine became routine. After its introduction, severe pneumococcal diseases in children younger than 5 fell by 80 percent, according to the CDC. The vaccine protects against seven types of S. pneumoniae, while more than 90 so-called serotypes exist. In Feburary, the ACIP recommended the use of a new vaccine instead, named Prevnar 13, that children under age 2 should receive in four doses. PCV13 protects against an antibiotic-resistant form of the bacteria as well as 12 other serotypes. If a child has a fever, cough, and noisy, labored, or rapid breathing, pneumonia—an infection of the lung—may be the culprit.
H1N1 "Swine Flu"
Since April 2009 when experts first identified an H1N1 outbreak, the virus has killed an estimated 1,300 children and adolescents. Young kids are particularly vulnerable, with the highest rates of U.S. hospitalizations for H1N1 being reported in children under age 4. As with regular flu, symptoms include fever, cough, and runny nose. But infants may have no respiratory signs of the virus, according to the federal government's flu.gov website. Although swine flu had a milder impact than expected last year, experts have recommended that everyone older than 6 months get vaccinated ahead of the upcoming flu season. The 2010-11 seasonal flu vaccine is expected to cover both seasonal flu and H1N1, while last year's came in two separate vaccines. Count on H1N1 to continue making headlines in months ahead, says Baltimore.
RSV
Nearly all infants and toddlers will be exposed to respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, and can even catch the bug from a parent, who may mistake their own RSV infection for a common cold. The risk of RSV infection is smaller in young healthy children, but in infants and premature newborns, RSV can be serious and may lead to pneumonia. The virus is responsible for killing as many as 200,000 children worldwide, and hospitalizing anywhere between 75,000 and 125,000 infants in the U.S. annually, according to the CDC. No RSV vaccine exists. As a preventive measure, high-risk infants are typically given an antibody shot against it.
MRSA
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection has led to nearly 30,000 child hospitalizations in the last decade, according to data from just over two dozen children's hospitals newly published in the journal Pediatrics. MRSA cases in kids leapt from 2 in every 1,000 hospital admissions in 1999 to 21 in 2008, researchers reported. What has experts especially concerned is that the so-called superbug, which causes pneumonia and bone and joint infections, is being acquired in the community, not in the hospital as it has in years past. What's more, this breed of MRSA, which survives on surfaces as well as on hands, is genetically different than hospital-acquired MRSA and can cause severe, even lethal infections in otherwise healthy children. The majority of MRSA skin infections—unsightly red bumps or boils—can be treated, however, without hospitalization, says Baltimore. The bacteria often spread among children playing contact sports, as they lurk on their sweaty gym socks, jerseys, and other workout gear that may be shared.
[How to Reduce the Risk of MRSA Infections in Kids.]
Neisseria meningitidis
While Neisseria meningitidis infection is more rare than others on this list, it is extremely harmful, leading kids quickly downhill before doctors have time to administer antibiotics. The bacteria, which can cause meningitis, bloodstream infections, or death, can live in the nose and mouth and spread among people living in close quarters. A vaccine that protects against four types of N. meningitidis is recommended for children ages 11 and older before they go off to college. A type not protected by the vaccine is dangerous in kids younger than 2. Beware of the telltale splotchy purple rash, especially if it darkens or spreads rapidly, a signal to see a pediatrician right away.
Pertussis
Whooping cough, or pertussis, is a bacterial infection that causes a very distinctive cough and cold-like symptoms. A vaccine for pertussis has long held it in check. Within the last 30 years, however, U.S. pertussis cases have been increasing. The infection is usually mild in adults and children, but in infants, pertussis may be life-threatening. Pneumonia, seizures, and brain damage are additional dangers. DTaP, a combination vaccine that also shields against tetanus and diphtheria, is given to children in five doses: once at ages 2, 4, and 6 months, once between 12 and 18 months, and once between 4 and 6 years old. Because the vaccine's benefits wane over time—and because infants under 2 months are not protected—adults and healthcare workers who are in regular contact with infants are advised to get a whooping cough booster, the Tdap, to avoid spreading the infection.
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