Doctors say the initial increase in the number of cases and hospitalizations this year is likely due to COVID-19 precautions that have reduced exposure to many viruses, including RSV, over the years. Many young children who were not previously exposed to RSV are getting it for the first time this fall.
Doctors say that RSV is a common respiratory virus that people get many times during their lives. It usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms that get better within a week, although the cough can last longer. For most people, it’s basically winter.
The virus can cause severe illness in the oldest and youngest. People at highest risk for severe illness and hospitalization are children younger than 2 years old, as well as persons 65 years and older, especially those with chronic heart or lung disease or a weakened immune system Huh.
Pediatric hospitals across America have been under strain for weeks from patients with RSV and other viruses. Flu activity is increasing.
This year, doctors have also seen children 2 to 4 years old hospitalized for RSV, says Daniel Rauch, MD, chief of pediatric hospital medicine at Tufts Medical Center and chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Hospital Care.
“We are seeing that older children usually get sicker and that may be because they haven’t had RSV in years,” he says. A career of several decades.”
What do you need to know about RSV? Here’s what doctors and immunologists advise.
symptoms of rsv
The most common symptoms of RSV are similar to those of the common cold: congestion, sneezing, cough and fever. The reason the virus is particularly dangerous in infants is that they are prone to bronchiolitis, or inflammation of the small airways in the lungs, which can result in difficulty breathing.
The younger children, the smaller the airways, and the easier it is for them to plug up with mucus, says Sarah Combs, MD, a physician and director of outreach for the emergency department at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.
You can get bronchiolitis from other respiratory viruses, but RSV is the most common cause, says Elizabeth Schlodecker, MD, a pediatrician and medical director of the division of infectious diseases at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. This is because many other viruses primarily affect the upper airways, but RSV often enters the lower airways of the respiratory system.
In older people, RSV can cause complications of existing chronic conditions or lead to pneumonia.
when to worry
If you pull on a baby or young child’s shirt and see the skin sucking in and out between the ribs and on their abdomen, this is a sign that they are having difficulty breathing and are struggling to push air in and out. Using your muscles to do this, Dr. Combs says. If your child is having difficulty breathing, call your doctor.
Another potential complication in infants, especially those 6 months and younger, is trouble with breastfeeding or bottle-feeding when they are overcrowded, resulting in dehydration. Try feeding them with a plastic syringe. If they’re producing only one wet diaper or less every eight hours, call your doctor, Dr. Combs says.
Doctor. Children with chronic lung or heart disease are at higher risk of severe illness from RSV, says Schlodecker. RSV can also worsen asthma symptoms in children with asthma.
Don’t necessarily worry too much about a fever, says Dr. Combs. Fever is a sign that the immune system is working. Give over-the-counter medicine, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen, to make your child comfortable.
hospitalization in the elderly
While hospitalizations have focused more on infants and young children, elderly people are also being hospitalized at higher rates than usual, says Ardeshir Hashemi, section chief of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Geriatric Medicine.
“The more medical conditions one has, the greater the risk,” says Dr. Hashmi.
RSV can often lead to complications of worsening lung or heart disease in elderly people, says Dr. Hashmi. During the pandemic, many people missed doctor’s appointments and didn’t stay on top of managing chronic conditions, which may also fuel some of the increase in RSV hospitalizations.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, RSV typically causes about 58,000 to 80,000 hospitalizations in children under the age of 5 each year, resulting in 100 to 300 deaths. It causes an average of 60,000 to 120,000 hospitalizations and 6,000 to 10,000 deaths among older adults each year.
RSV treatment
Researchers are working on developing vaccines for RSV as well as antiviral drugs. But there is currently no vaccine or specific treatment for RSV.
Pediatricians recommend giving over-the-counter fever reducers to children with high temperatures and making sure they drink enough fluids to avoid dehydration.
Doctors can do a rapid RSV test, but they say there is no need to bring children in or test them unless they have severe breathing difficulties and need medical attention.
Hospitalized RSV patients often receive oxygen supplementation or IV fluids, says Elizabeth Murray, MD, an emergency-medicine pediatrician at the University of Rochester. In rare cases, intubation with a mechanical ventilator is required.
How RSV is spread and how to prevent it
RSV is transmitted largely through droplets emitted when an infected person sneezes or coughs near you. You can also get it by touching surfaces contaminated with those droplets and then touching your mouth or nose.
Washing your hands is especially important to reduce transmission. Cleaning commonly touched surfaces, especially in settings such as day care and nursing homes, is also a useful prevention strategy. Caregivers can wear a mask to help protect themselves.
Doctors say immunity from RSV doesn’t last long. You can even be infected twice in one season, says Dr. Rauch.