Respiratory illnesses in children are overwhelming hospitals across the United States right now. As Axios reports, physicians across the country have been reporting unseasonably high numbers of the respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, in children in recent weeks, putting a strain on hospitals that are already preparing for the typical wintertime surge of patients ill from viruses.
RSV is a common respiratory virus among children that produces common cold symptoms. For most, a mild case of RSV lasts about two weeks. But some infants, young children and older adults, especially those with pre-existing health conditions, may suffer from more severe cases, leading to hospitalization, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Data from the CDC show that cases of RSV detected by PCR tests have tripled in the last two months. Case numbers have already reached peak levels from 2021, according to CDC data.
In Washington, D.C., the Children’s National Hospital neared capacity this week as respiratory illness cases spiked, Axios D.C. reports. Children’s Hospital Colorado has been filling up with sick kids, too, per Axios Denver. And Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford is considering building a field hospital outside the main facility if case numbers continue to grow, Juan Salazar, the physician-in-chief, told the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
According to the WSJ, we all have COVID-19 to thank for the current surge in RSV. In pre-pandemic years, RSV would make its rounds in the fall and winter before going away in the summer, but COVID shifted the pattern, causing a dip in RSV as the coronavirus bullied its way through the population. Now RSV and other respiratory illnesses lingered throughout the summer and now into early fall.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time, I’ve been at Connecticut Children’s for 25 years, and I have never seen this level of surge — specifically of RSV — coming into our hospital,” Dr. Salazar told CNN. “I think for the next four to eight weeks, we just have to be careful.”
To help protect your child from RSV, officials recommend parents and caregivers vaccinate their children for influenza to protect against a rise in those cases later this winter.
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