Non-specific prevention of infections in children

Abstract

ARVI (acute respiratory viral infections, also often called ARD - acute respiratory disease) is a group of diseases that are similar in character and mostly characterized by a pathology of the respiratory system. If the pathogen is not identified, the patient is usually diagnosed with ARD, since the agent is not necessarily a virus. In developed countries, 18% of children aged 1--4 years suffer from acute respiratory viral infections [1]. Children aged 3 to 14 years suffer from ARVI most often. At the same time, children in the first year of life are practically not affected by acute respiratory viral infections. This is contributed by passive immunity which is acquired at birth and maintained during the first months of life thanks to breastfeeding. Influenza and ARVI account for 90% of all infectious pathologies and are the second leading cause of death from infectious diseases [2]. Delayed influenza mortality during epidemics can reach 100 cases per 100 thousand people [3]. Influenza epidemics cause enormous economic damage: in Russia, it equals more than 20 billion rubles each year [4].