Cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in children under two years of age are rising throughout Brazil, mainly due to the increase in infections by the respiratory syncytial virus – RSV. The virus is the main cause of bronchiolitis, an inflammation of the lung branches that primarily affects babies under two years old. Other age groups remain stable regarding SARS.
In the last four weeks, 41.5% of SARS cases with a confirmed diagnosis for some virus were caused by RSV. Next comes Influenza A with 27.2% and rhinovirus with 25.5%.
The data come from the InfoGripe Bulletin, released this Thursday (14) by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz).
The bulletin also warns that Influenza A cases continue to increase in the three states of the South Region, as well as in Roraima and Tocantins in the North Region and in São Paulo and Espírito Santo in the Southeast. This type of flu virus was responsible for 51.7% of SARS deaths with a positive test in the last four weeks, occurring mainly among the elderly.
These two scenarios place all Brazilian federative units on alert, with ten of them in a high-risk situation: Acre, Amazonas, Pará, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Goiás, Federal District, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais and Paraíba.
In addition, in 14 Federative Units the trend is for cases to increase in the coming weeks: Acre, Amazonas, Pará, Tocantins, Amapá, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Bahia, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte, São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul.
At the end of last month, the Pan American Health Organization warned about the start of the season of greater circulation of respiratory viruses in the Southern Hemisphere, highlighting Influenza A H3N2 and RSV.
Prevention
Researcher Tatiana Portella, from the InfoGripe Bulletin and Fiocruz’s Scientific Computing Program, warns about the importance of immunization.
“The main form of prevention against worsening and deaths from RSV and influenza A is vaccination. Therefore, it is essential that people at higher risk of worsening from these viruses get vaccinated.”
The flu vaccine offered by the Unified Health System protects against type A and is being applied throughout the country, with priority for the elderly, pregnant women, children under 6 years old and people with comorbidities or who are part of vulnerable groups, who are more likely to develop severe forms of the disease.
The RSV vaccine is administered to pregnant women from the 28th week, with the aim of protecting babies after birth.
In addition, the SUS provides a monoclonal antibody against RSV for premature babies, who are at high risk of complications. Unlike the vaccine, which stimulates the body to produce antibodies against the disease, this medication consists of ready-made antibodies.
Cases
In 2026, 57,585 SARS cases were reported in Brazil, and 45.7% tested positive for some respiratory virus.
The most prevalent throughout the year was rhinovirus, present in 36.1% of the identified samples, followed by Influenza A with 26.3%, RSV with 25.3% and covid-19 with 7.4%.
But the proportion of each of these viruses among deaths is different. 2,660 deaths from SARS were recorded, of which 1,151 had a positive laboratory result. Influenza A infections account for 39.6% of these records, followed by covid-19 with 26%, rhinovirus with 21.3% and RSV with 6.4%.
Source: Agência Brasil
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