Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: We are here at the tail end of October, but it's been Respiratory Syncytial Virus Awareness Month now, you might say. What in the world is that? It's more commonly known as rsv, which is a common, contagious, potentially serious respiratory illness that really does kick off circulating in the fall and in the wintertime. Joining me now to talk more about RSV and its dangers and all of that, I've got Dr. Leonard Friedland, who's the vice President and Director of Scientific affairs at and public health at GSK North America. Dr. Friedland, how are you, sir?
[00:00:36] Speaker B: I'm great. And thanks for your interest in this important topic.
[00:00:38] Speaker A: Thank you. I appreciate it. We also have Carol with us, who she's a national Senior Games athlete. Carol, thank you so much for being here.
[00:00:47] Speaker C: Yeah, thank you. And I appreciate you having me on your show.
[00:00:50] Speaker A: Yeah, no worries at all. It's. It's great to have you both. And, you know, Dr. Friedland, let's just start with you. Kind of give us a baseline here of why RSV is.
So it's just so important to draw attention to.
[00:01:04] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. So RSV is the respiratory sensational virus.
We just call it RSV for short. And it's common and it's contagious and potentially serious, especially in infants and in older adults. And this virus affects the lungs and our breathing passageways, and it's most likely going to be spread in the fall and winter. So right now, this time of year. And many people associate RSV as disease of infants, but indeed, it also is a serious disease in adults.
And that's because adults with RSV can develop serious complications, including hospitalizations, visits to the intensive care unit, and even die from this disease.
In fact, in the United states, for people 65 years of age and older, it's estimated there's about 177,000 hospitalizations due to RSV each year. And unfortunately, of those people hospitalized, about 14,000 will die as adults from RSV each year in the United States.
And so who's at risk?
One risk factor is advancing age, especially above the age of 75, but also for people 50 to 74 who have underlying medical conditions such as asthma. And you'll hear about Carol's story as well. She has that particular underlying medical condition. But other medical cond such as heart disease, diabetes, weakened immune Systems, places adults 50 to 74 also at increased risk from severe outcomes from RSV. And so as this virus circulates in the fall and winter, now's the time to get informed, have the information and Take steps to try to prevent this disease. And we can talk a bit more about what those preventative steps are.
[00:02:55] Speaker A: Yeah, definitely. So, Carol, though, tell us. The doctor kind of teed us up here to talk about your particular experience with rsv. I mean, you obviously, as a national senior Games athlete, you're someone who is, is very active, but you still have had this personal experience with rsv. Tell us about that.
[00:03:16] Speaker C: Thanks, Matt. Of course I would.
Yes. Like Dr. Friedman said, I was one of those people that experienced that. I was also one of those people that thought it was only for babies. I do have an underlying condition and I definitely have asthma. And as a result of that, my experience was definitely severe. I had it at 55, so I was in that younger age group between that, closer to 50. So I didn't even originally realize that that's what I had.
But what I do know is when I had it, it was debilitating.
It really stopped me in my tracks. As an athlete, we're generally used to being able to push our body to do things. We know what our body's capable of and we know our breaking point because we're always trying to get to that breaking point as we train.
But severe RSV was my breaking point. It definitely broke me for a period. I wasn't able to even get out of the bed. And that made it difficult because I'm very much used to pushing past things and making things work.
It did not. It was very difficult. I couldn't breathe.
I could barely sit up.
I was, I had fever, joint aches, everything. There was just a lot going on. That it was completely, what felt like it was out of my control.
[00:04:34] Speaker A: Wow. And I bet that is something that probably changed your view of, of your health overall. I mean, like you said, you thought that maybe this, you know, RSV was just something for infants, but I guess this is kind of a, I don't know, kind of a maybe a wake up call, you know, health wise. Even though you're, you know, a healthy person and an active person, I bet it probably changed your perspective on a lot of things.
[00:04:59] Speaker C: Absolutely. It changed my perspective in not taking my health for granted because I'm an active athlete. I thought I wasn't taking my health for granted. I thought I was taking care of myself. I thought I was doing everything that needed to be done. I managed my nutrition, I managed my training. But what I forgot to manage is my overall health. So it gave me a, a view of more holistic health. It made me talk to my doctor about what options Were for me, once I became ill, I realized that I needed to be more active in my overall healthcare. So it definitely changed my view there.
[00:05:36] Speaker A: Yeah. And Dr. Friedland, you mentioned, you know, some of the preventative or, you know, kind of the proactive steps that people can take in preventing severe rsv.
Go through some of those, if you will, because I, you know, as I guess as the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure here.
[00:05:54] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely.
So RSV is a common contagious respiratory virus. And just like all of the other respiratory viruses, hand washing, staying away from people who are sick, ourselves if we're sick, not exposing other people, these are all the important things. Of course, as we get older, we also want to focus in on our overall nutrition, exercise, sleep, et cetera. But the virus is contagious.
And the best tool that we have is prevention. And the reason for that is that there is no treatment for rsv. There's no medication to take that will stop the progression of this or treat or cure this illness.
When people are sick with rsv, the treatment is supportive. It's oxygen hydration and just getting them through the illness. Managing fever, for example. So the best tool that we have is vaccination, because vaccination is one of the best ways to reduce the risk of those severe outcomes from rsv, including outcomes such as hospitalization. The good news is that there are now three different RSV vaccines that are available for use in adults here in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control recommends a single dose of an RSV vaccine for all adults over the age of 75 and RSV vaccination for adults 50 to 74. With those underlying medical conditions like asthma, COPD, diabetes, weakened immune systems. So the best tool we have is knowledge. And that's what speaking to you today is all about. That's what our TV special, redefining aging with senior Athletes is all about. And also the information we have at our website, sidelinersv.com get those resources, have that discussion. Now's the time to speak to the doctor or the pharmacist, learn about RSV and speak about options such as RSV vaccination.
[00:07:45] Speaker A: Very good. Well, we'll send our listeners in that direction to the website as well.
That's gonna just about wrap us up here, but Dr. Leonard Friedland with GSK North America, and Carol, who is a national senior Games athlete, thank you so much, both for. For sharing, especially Carol, sharing your story here with us. Really do appreciate your time.
[00:08:05] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:08:05] Speaker B: Thank you.
