Surge in childhood virus strains hospitals

Brenda Poe, The Huntsville Item, Texas
·2 min read

Nov. 14—Children's hospitals in parts of the U.S. are seeing a surge in RSV cases.

The Huntsville Memorial Hospital (HMH) is not seeing those affects, according to Brian Goldgar, Director of Business Development and Therapy Services.

HMH staff reported that higher numbers of the flu have been seen locally by Personal Care Physicians and the Emergency Department.

"Getting your flu vaccine and COVID boosters are the best way to protect yourself and loved ones," Goldgar said. "There is no vaccine for RSV at this time."

RSV — respiratory syncytial virus — is a common bug. For most people, it causes mild cold-like symptoms such as runny nose, cough and fever. But infants and older people can get serious airway and lung infections.

Among U.S. kids under age 5, RSV typically leads to 58,000 hospitalizations and up to 500 deaths in a year. For adults 65 and older, RSV causes 177,000 hospitalizations and 14,000 deaths yearly.

Nearly all U.S. children normally catch an RSV infection by age 2. But past pandemic shutdowns are likely playing a role, because they shielded babies and children from common bugs.

RSV cases fell dramatically two years ago as the pandemic closed schools, day cares and businesses. Doctors saw an alarming increase in the summer of 2021 and again this fall. Doctors also fear that RSV, flu and COVID-19 could combine to stress hospitals.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracks RSV cases in the U.S. nationally, by region and by state. In Texas, there were 400 cases reported last week.

There's no specific treatment for RSV, but doctors may prescribe medications to manage symptoms. There is a drug available to prevent severe RSV illness in certain high-risk kids, but it doesn't prevent infection.

Several companies are working on a vaccine. It's been a long time coming. An early effort in the 1960s ended in failure, but National Institutes of Health researchers found a possible pathway to immunization, opening the way to a variety of experimental RSV vaccine candidates.