An investigation has detected the circulation in Mozambique of a virus that has a high potential to hospitalize and kill children under the age of five all over the world.

According to the NewsThis is the Sickle Cell Virus (SCAV), which occurs mostly in developing countries, and infections are highest in children under the age of two.

It is a virus that is transmitted in crowds through contact with droplets expelled by an infected person.

Infected children usually present with a cough, breathing difficulties, fevers and a lack of appetite for breastfeeding.

The National Health System (SNS) has no material available to diagnose the virus, according to the research coordinator, Tufária Mussá.

She explained that the "discovery" was made by collecting and analyzing material from children, with the consent of their guardians.

"The results were useful to better guide the treatment that the doctor administered to those children," said Mussá, who is also deputy director for research and extension at the Faculty of Medicine, Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM).

A study carried out between 2022 and 2023, between the UEM Faculty of Medicine and the Universal Medical Center of Urecht in the Netherlands, concluded that the viral load of respiratory disease associated with RSV is high, and around 35% circulate between February and June, with a peak in April.

The cost to families and the NHS is also high, the collaborative study noted. Mozambique has little data on the burden of respiratory disease associated with RSV and the cost to families and the NHS.

There are vaccines to treat the disease, but they are only available in developed countries. Of the three that exist, two were authorized in 2023, one to immunize pregnant women in late pregnancy and one for newborns.