A model of the respiratory syncytial virus protein is presented at the University of Texas at Austin on March 31, 2022. The surge in her RSV cases in children has pushed some hospitals over capacity.
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A model of the respiratory syncytial virus protein is presented at the University of Texas at Austin on March 31, 2022. The surge in her RSV cases in children has pushed some hospitals over capacity.
Getty Images Washington Post
unseasonably early spike respiratory syncytial virus Cases in young children have pushed some hospitals to capacity.
A respiratory virus called RSV presents mostly as a mild illness with cold-like symptoms in adults, but can cause pneumonia and bronchiolitis in very young children. It can be life-threatening in infants and young adults.
In most years, infections usually occur in late autumn and winter, often coinciding with flu season. But since at least last year, doctors have during the summer.
Children’s hospitals in the Washington, DC area, including Children’s National Hospital, Baltimore’s Inova Fairfax and Johns Hopkins, are at or near capacity. Reported by DCist.
At Hartford’s Connecticut Children’s Hospital, pediatric inpatient beds have been filling up in recent weeks. Reported by WTNHWith no signs of the spread slowing, officials are asking the National Guard and FEMA to help set up tents to expand containment capacity.
Physician at Cook Children’s Hospital, Fort Worth, Texas Said ABC News treats about 300 RSV patients a day.
“More people are wearing face masks in the last year, and children are more likely to stay home when sick,” says Dr. Laura Romano. Said Cook’s Children’s internal publication.
“This year, parents are sending their children to daycare or school for the first time after a two-year pandemic…children who have never been exposed to respiratory viruses before are getting sick.” Romano said.
Health officials in King County, Washington are also on alert as they prepare for more cases as winter arrives.Dr. Russell Migita and Seattle Children’s Hospital Said King 5 News says they are seeing about 20 to 30 positive cases each day, adding that those are “unprecedented” numbers.
How to display RSV
RSV has flu-like symptoms and is harmless to adults, but the CDC says children under the age of five are the most affected group.According to affiliated office dataAbout 58,000 children in this age group are hospitalized with RSV each year. Her next most vulnerable group is adults over the age of 65, with 14,000 people dying from the disease annually.
RSV can cause bronchiolitis. This is an infection that causes the airways to become inflamed and clogged with mucus, making it difficult to breathe. If the infection moves to the lung sacs, it can cause pneumonia.
Dr. Sarah Goza, MD, former president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said: I spoke with NPR last year About how the infection manifests itself in infants.
“Many babies under the age of one have trouble breathing. They stop eating because they cannot breathe and eat at the same time. rice field.
Other symptoms include coughing, excessive sleep and lethargy.
There is no vaccine to prevent RSV, but doctors encourage their patients to get the flu shot. It can’t prevent infection, but it can keep people out of more aggressive symptoms and avoid seeing a doctor in an already tense hospital.
