Rachael Thomas, like many parents, knew nothing about RSV until her child became severely ill with the virus.
Her son, Alexander, was born in 2009.
He was a healthy baby boy.
But in early February in 2010, Alexander began to experience cold-like symptoms: a cough, a runny nose, and was generally unwell. He didn’t have a temperature and was still feeding.
However, Rachael knew Alexander wasn’t right and took him to the local doctor. The doctor advised her to give him some liquid paracetamol. Rachel took her son home and kept a close eye on him.
‘That evening, Alexander woke up and started to cry,’ says Rachael. ‘And that cry was wrong. I just knew it was not a normal cry.’
She called an ambulance but, before it arrived, Alexander stopped breathing and went limp. In A&E, his heart stopped and a team spent two hours trying to save him. At two o’clock in the morning, Alexander was declared dead.
‘He died in my arms,’ she says. ‘I sang to him, like I did every night. I just thought if he heard that voice that, hopefully, he wouldn’t be scared.’
A post-mortem found that RSV was the cause of death.
Raising awareness, saving lives
What Rachael found most shocking about this was the lack of awareness parents and health professionals had. From that point on, she began looking into RSV prevention and is now working to raise awareness of the disease and vaccination.
‘I’ve been on a personal mission since Alexander died to educate parents and caregivers, and medical professionals, about RSV,’ she says. ‘Because if we have education and we can prevent these diseases then maybe we can save some lives.’
Rachael, who works as a university lecturer and is on the ReSViNET RSV Patient Network Patient Advisory Board, is working to raise awareness of RSV among the public and policymakers. In October, she spoke at a meeting on respiratory diseases in the European Parliament, where she told her personal story.
Her son, Oliver, has also shared his experience through ReSViNET to illustrate the impact of RSV on surviving siblings. Oliver was four when his younger brother, Alexander, died. The video shows the life-long impact of losing a brother and how it has shaped the past sixteen years.
What are the symptoms of RSV?
RSV is a respiratory disease which is the second leading cause of death among children under five years of age. Babies, the elderly and other vulnerable groups are at highest risk of severe illness.
- Difficulty breathing
- Chest contraction
- Wheezing/rapid breathing
- Fatigue
According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention & Control (ECDC), twenty-three countries across the EU/EEA already recommend RSV immunisation with long-acting monoclonal antibodies. Nineteen of these have funded programmes in place, either for all babies born during the winter season (universal immunisation) or for infants at high risk of severe illness.
Three EU/EEA countries (Poland, Romania, Slovenia) use maternal vaccination exclusively and five countries (Belgium, Cyprus, France, Greece, Luxembourg) offer it as an alternative for protection alongside long-acting monoclonal antibodies. A vaccine is also available for older people.
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