HARTFORD, Conn. — As hospitals have their hands full with the COVID-19 pandemic, some are dealing with another contagious virus, called respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (CCMC) is seeing an uptick in the number of children being admitted to the hospital for RSV, which is typically common among infants and can be serious in some cases.
This year, CCMC is also seeing a spike earlier in the year, and 1 to 2-year-olds are contracting the virus as well.
“We admit about 350-400 children every year to the hospital with RSV and this year, we’re seeing probably close to twice that,” Dr. Chris Carroll, a pediatric critical care physician with CCMC, said.
Marianne Greenwood from Preston told FOX61 her two young kids contracted RSV.
“My 5-month-old little boy started coughing and then it turned into, he was wheezing,” Greenwood said. “They did a nasal swab and he tested positive.”
But shortly after, she said her son’s symptoms started to get worse, so the family took him to the ER at Connecticut Children’s.
“He got put on some oxygen. They did some nasal suction. They gave him some albuterol,” she said. “They tried to take him off of oxygen and his O2 levels dropped again so they put him back on and admitted us for the evening, for that night, so we ended up spending the night at the hospital.”
Greenwood said the coughing lasted for another week or two after that. Her 2-year-old ended up contracting the virus as well, but it wasn’t severe.
The Greenwood family is not alone. Dr. Carroll said they have seen an increase over the last few months and the spike is coming earlier in the year.
“We typically see the RSV infections in November and December, around the holidays. This year, we saw more of them in September and October,” Carroll told FOX61.
Here’s what signs and symptoms parents should lookout for:
- Fast breathing
- Noisy breathing both when they’re breathing in and breathing out
- Prolonged exhalation, so if it’s taking them a very long time to exhale
"And the children that we’re really worried about are children who are not eating anymore, who are not having wet diapers anymore and children who are sleeping a lot and very lethargic or are very irritable and won’t stop crying,” Dr. Carroll added.
The virus typically lasts 7-10 days.
Dr. Carroll said it’s rare for children to die from RSV, but it can be serious in some cases. Adults can get RSV as well but it’s typically less serious.
The best prevention is to keep your little ones away from people who are sick, according to Dr. Carroll.
Elisha Machado is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at emachado@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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