Oakland County’s chief medical examiner said Wednesday that a 6-year-old in Macomb County has died amid a spike in infections among children in Michigan, which has children’s hospitals across the state and is nearly full. It said the boy died from respiratory syncytial virus, better known as RSV.
The boy was admitted to Corewell Health Beaumont Troy Hospital and died at 3:41 a.m. Wednesday, the Oakland County Coroner’s Office told the Free Press.
“The child was diagnosed at the hospital, and I believe he survived for several hours in the hospital, but I think he had severe breathing difficulties,” said doctor Dr. Ljubisa Dragovic. “He was recorded positive at the hospital and tested positive, so he had RSV.”
The boy is among the hundreds of children in Michigan who need hospital care amid a spate of cases of respiratory syncytial virus, which causes the most serious illness in infants, young children, immunocompromised people and the elderly. are among us.
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Who is at risk from RSV?
It is a very common respiratory virus that causes mild cold-like symptoms in most people “typical of other respiratory illnesses, such as a runny nose, cough, sneezing and fever.” told the Free Press in a previous interview. “Most people who get RSV recover on their own at home.”
Subsets of the population, especially babies, young children, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems, have a harder time fighting the virus and can become very sick. can cause difficulties.
RSV is not a reportable disease to public health agencies, so the number of cases and deaths statewide is unknown. However, State Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Lynn Sutphin told the Free Press: “Over the past three weeks, we’ve had a number of trips to the pediatric emergency room, mostly due to respiratory illness. A steady increase in visits.
“We are asking all families in Michigan to take steps to prevent the spread of respiratory illness, including staying home if unwell and risk of severe respiratory syncytial virus infection. This includes avoiding contact with other people, washing your hands frequently, and getting vaccinated against flu and COVID.19; to find out if you are eligible for treatment.”
The Oakland County Health Department issued a statement Wednesday urging people with cold-like symptoms to avoid contact with small children to limit the spread of RSV.
Michigan hospitals full of sick children
The surge in RSV-infected children is hitting hospital emergency departments and pediatric intensive care units statewide.
At Corewell Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, all the beds in the intensive care unit were full on Wednesday. The hospital had to add about five of her ICU beds in a dedicated overflow unit to continue caring for the sickest children, said hospital director Hossain Marandi, M.D.
“We also evaluate all hospitalizations to ensure that when a critically ill child needs care, we can say yes,” Marandi said.
The University of Michigan Health CS Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor is “very full,” said spokesperson Beata Mostafavi.
Bagdasarian said infections of respiratory syncytial virus and other respiratory viruses among children in the state “escalated last week” even though they were already above high thresholds.
“What we are seeing in the current trend is not only an increase in the number of RSV surveillance in terms of positive tests, but also an increase in the number of patients undergoing emergency care in RSV emergency departments. And this is primarily the under-four group,” she said Wednesday.
“We are really hearing from all the pediatric hospitals that they are struggling right now. They are struggling with ICU beds. Not accepting.This is a problem….many of them have emergency department borders or boarders…to more permanent beds simply because there are so many cases Children who cannot move.”
The University of Michigan Health at Sparrow Children’s Center in Lansing has been inundated with calls from other Michigan hospitals and out of state asking if there is room for more sick children to be transferred, said a spokesperson. said Corey Alexander of
“We will continue to monitor capacity limits and take appropriate action,” he said.
Hospital bed availability for children is either ‘at capacity’ or ‘at capacity’ at eight hospitals in southeastern Michigan that are part of Corewell Health East (the new name for Beaumont Health). It fluctuates between, said Mathew Denenberg, Ph.D., the hospital’s system director. Pediatrics.
Choosing the right level of care for your symptoms
John Karasinski, spokesperson for the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, said staffing shortages resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic continued. This means that even if there are empty beds in hospitals, there may not be enough nurses and other staff to care for patients.
“That’s a big factor in what’s happening right now…the hospital doesn’t have enough staff to account for all the physical beds available,” he said.
Karasinski called on people to reduce the burden on hospitals by choosing the right level of care based on the severity of their symptoms.
“Given the surge in patients coming to hospital emergency departments for respiratory syncytial virus, anyone with worsening symptoms such as difficulty breathing or dehydration should be treated immediately in hospital emergency departments. is needed.
“If your symptoms are mild, we encourage you to contact your local emergency care, pediatrician’s office, and family physician’s office. We try to take some of the pressure off.”
What are the signs my child has RSV and needs to go to the emergency room?
Infants cannot tell their parents that they are short of breath. A doctor told the Free Press that caregivers should be aware of the following symptoms:
- quick breathing
- wheezing or moaning
- Widening of the nostrils or tense muscles in the neck, chest, or abdomen when trying to breathe
- I don’t eat well
- excessive fuss or excessive lethargy
- bluish color of the skin, lips, or nail beds
- In infants, dehydration caused by not getting the diaper wet
- Apnea episode
“When your respiratory rate is over 60, you’re often too busy trying to breathe in to get oxygen to your body and you often don’t eat well,” said group chief medical officer at Michigan Hospitals and Detroit Medical Center.
“It’s easy to get dehydrated. So if they’re not eating well, they’re fussy, they have a fever, they’re breathing or moaning, they should go to the hospital,” he said.
“Not all coughs and colds with slight wheezing require a trip to the hospital. If your baby is comfortable breastfeeding but seems a little uncomfortable, pick up the phone and contact your pediatrician. You can ask for instructions.
“But if you have symptoms of breathing difficulties, such as grunting, abdominal breathing, or problems with feeding, you should seek (medical) attention.”
Other ways to help the health system through the RSV crisis
Mr Bagdasarian said RSV is not the only epidemic now, it is sickening adults and children. Influenza cases are starting to emerge, along with coronaviruses, rhinoviruses, adenoviruses, and more.
“What we’re telling people is to take this seriously as virus breathing season,” she said. We really want to have the tools we need to keep our systems functioning, and… to make them available to those who need urgent medical care.
“If someone has a heart attack or stroke, or if someone is in a car accident, we want them to have access to the excellent health care they normally have access to.”
That means staying up to date on the COVID-19 vaccine and getting a flu shot, she said.
“If you don’t feel well, stay home and away from other people…to prevent infecting others,” she said. Even if it does, we need to remember that it can be a life-threatening infection for newborns, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.”
Contact Kristen Jordan Shamus at: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @kristenshamus. apply to free press.
