RSV is more common than flu or COVID in IL and it’s created a ‘crisis’ for hospitals

An increased spread of respiratory syncytial virus, commonly known as RSV, has caused a “health system crisis” in Illinois as pediatric intensive care units are overflowing into emergency rooms.

Dr. Doug Carlson, chairperson of pediatrics at Southern Illinois University Medicine, told the News-Democrat the spread of RSV, influenza and COVID-19 has created a situation in which doctors are forced to turn children away from ICUs.

“We can’t do it, and no one else can do it. And kids are staying in emergency rooms until a bed opens up,” Carlson said.

Babies younger than 6 months old are most vulnerable to RSV, Carlson said, along with children who were born prematurely and those who have asthma or underlying lung or heart conditions.

Along with necessitating the use of emergency rooms in lieu of pediatric ICU beds, the spike of RSV hospitalizations has also delayed some children’s elective surgeries.

“We’re asking some hospitals to do more in their emergency room until we can free up a bed in the ICU or in patient areas. We’re constantly juggling, working within the region to try to find the beds that are opening. But then as we find the beds for the kids with RSV, there are decreases – we’ve had to cancel some elective surgeries in kids so that we don’t use those beds ... on a elective.”

The effect of canceling elective surgeries can be hard on children and their families, Carlson said.

“And ‘elective’ is really only in the mind of us, not in the minds of the parents or the child. They believe that surgery is necessary, and it is, but sometimes we’re having to put that off,” Carlson continued.

Sometimes Illinois health professionals are forced to send children out of state to access necessary treatment.

“It is impacting other things that we’re doing. We had a child with a new diagnosis of diabetes that we had to send to Wisconsin. And then a couple days later, we actually took a child with new onset of diabetes from Wisconsin because of where the beds were open at that moment. So children (are) having to go farther away from home to get the care that they need,” Carlson said.

While Carlson told the News-Democrat he wasn’t aware of any negative health outcomes due to children having to seek care far from home, it can take up to 24 to 48 hours to find somewhere for a child to go.

“But we are really being stressed for our ICU beds on a regional and national level,” Carlson noted.

The shortage of nurses and other health care professionals is improving somewhat, but is accentuated by the high level of need, Carlson said.

When should your child be tested for RSV in Illinois?

RSV is an easily transmissible cold virus that doesn’t typically cause serious complications. It can be dangerous for young children, who are at higher risk for potential respiratory failure, Carlson told the News-Democrat.

“Most children, even babies, that get RSV, have bad colds but don’t have the respiratory symptoms,” Carlson said.

Health care professionals use similar nasal swab tests as are used for COVID-19 to diagnose RSV, but your child does not necessarily need to be tested every time they exhibit cold-like symptoms.

“A cold is just a cold. Watch your child, if your child has a cold and they have a runny nose and a cough, aren’t feeling well, a little bit of a fever, treat the fever,” Carlson said.

While cold-like symptoms can be caused by a variety of ailments, Carlson said RSV is currently more common than the flu or COVID-19.

“Not every cold this time of year is being caused by RSV, but as we test for them, it’s about 25 percent of the times we test that it’s RSV right now,” Carlson said. “RSV is much more common in the community than influenza. And right now, it’s significantly more common than COVID.”

It’s important to watch your child’s activity, eating and drinking, Carlson said, and you should reach out to your primary care physician if you notice your child is having difficulty breathing or is eating less. Since infants are more at risk, it’s especially important to monitor their symptoms.

Specific treatments are available for the flu and for COVID-19, but providers can only give symptomatic care to children with RSV, Carlson said.

“If your child or you have a cold, make sure you’re washing your hands and not coming in contact with infants unless you absolutely are the primary caregiver for them,” Carlson said. “...If your child is sick, don’t send them to school. Because they’re spreading it to someone who might spread it to someone who could get very, very sick.”

As many children who were toddlers at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic are now old enough to attend school, they may now be exposed to some viruses for the first time, Carlson said.

“The reason that we did not see RSV two years ago was because of masks and social distancing. And now we have a whole group of young kids that have not been exposed to the virus that are being exposed. So many kids are getting sick with colds, and a few of them, particularly those less than six months (old), are getting very sick with RSV causing bronchiolitis,” Carlson said.

In addition to common mitigation strategies against respiratory viruses, Carlson recommended parents consider vaccinating their children for influenza and COVID-19.

“There is no immunization for RSV, but there is for influenza and COVID. So I encourage all families to strongly consider getting immunized for the preventable diseases,” Carlson said.

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