Pandemic Resilience – The next pandemic is coming

Do you remember the winter of 2022? The paediatric intensive care
units were full of babies and small children who could barely
breathe. This was because the measures taken to combat the
coronavirus pandemic in the two previous winters meant that many
children had not yet had their first RSV infection. As a result,
there were many children who were suddenly ill and therefore more
than usual who were seriously ill. The respiratory syncytial virus
is particularly bad for babies under 3 months of age. This is
because it can lead to severe pneumonia - and sometimes life-long
consequential damage remains. An example of how quickly pathogens
can spread. And this is precisely the area of expertise of Dr Berit
Lange - the (acting) head of the Department of Epidemiology and
head of the Clinical Epidemiology research group here at the HZI.