By Wendy Anders

Costa Rican public health officials renewed a health alert put in place July 2 in response to a severe respiratory virus that is especially virulent in young children.

The temporary extension of hours in peripheral clinics will remain in effect until August 8, or until the respiratory emergency wanes sufficiently, stated officials in a press statement today.

The following clinics will be open 24-hours a day to receive children with non-urgent sicknesses to allow the National Children’s Hospital (HNN) to focus on the urgent cases saturating their services:

•Carlos Durán Clinic – Vasconia, San José

•Jiménez Núñez Clinic – Goicoechea, San José

•Solón Núñez Clinic – Hatillo, San José

•Centro de Atención Integral en Salud (CAIS) – Desamparados, San José

•Central Clinic – Aranjuez, San José

•Clorito Picado Clinic – Cinco Esquinas de Tibás, San José

Health promotion, prevention, and education are key to checking the spread of this virus, said María Eugenia Villalta Bonilla, medical director of the Costa Rican Security Bureau (CCSS).

Preventive measures that everyone, especially those with young children, should take include regular hand washing with soap and water, covering sneezes and coughs with the forearm or a disposable tissue, keeping sick children home while active with an infection, avoiding exposing young children to viruses by avoiding crowds and places where there may be sick people, prolonging maternal breastfeeding, and avoiding smoking and exposure to smoke, said Olga Arguedas, Children’s Hospital director, in a press statement.

To provide timely intervention in urgent cases, the CCSS is requesting expedited acquisition, either through purchase or rental, of 5 or 6 additional mechanical ventilators to complement the existing 60 at the Children’s Hospital.

Warning signs that a child needs medical attention are persistent cough, several nasal congestion, difficulty breathing, prolonged fever above 38 Celsius, rapid pulse, rib cage collapsing during breathing, neck muscles contracting while breathing, expanded nostrils while breathing, pale complexion, blueish or purplish lips or fingernails, or the child is weak, non-responsive or refuses to eat, nurse or drink.

For first six months of the year, severe respiratory infections accounted for 12 percent of the children requiring intensive care services at the Children’s Hospital, much higher than in previous years.