Marcela Góchez experienced days of great anguish when her year-and-a-half-year-old son Daniel contracted the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
“He had very high temperatures, a lot of coughing, lack of energy and did not want to eat or drink.”
This mother had no choice but to take Daniel to the emergency room at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, but she was frustrated that she was not given treatment that would help her son recover quickly.
“They only told me to give him motrin and tylenol, but the child was still sick.”
On her own account, Marcela, who saw her son with a lot of cough and congestion, decided to give him respiratory therapy and install a nebulizer in the child’s room.
“This is how the child began to loosen secretions and vomit.”
After two visits to the emergency room, Marcela was able to see the pediatrician, who finally diagnosed that the child had respiratory syncytial virus. ial, better known by its acronym RSV.
“I was told to continue with the nebulizer with a saline solution and the inhaler with the medication albuterol”.
Finally, the infant began to recover, but his mother regrets that there is no early care when the first symptoms appear, and that health providers wait until the children are very sick to give them medicine.
A virus on the rise
A A new study estimates that one in every 50 deaths of healthy children under age 5 worldwide is due to a common virus that is currently on the rise in the United States, the respiratory syncytial virus or RSV.
Pediatric intensive care units across the country are overflowing or overcrowded with children experiencing RSV.
During videoconference: “The alarming increase in pediatric RSV. How can we keep our young children safe?“, organized by Ethnic Media Services, Dr. Manisha Newaskar, assistant professor of pediatrics and pulmonary medicine at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, said we are definitely seeing a lot of emergency room visits and hospitalizations of pediatric patients due to RSV and other viruses.”
Dr. Priya Soni, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said we haven’t seen the worst yet. “We are behind on the west coast. So fasten your seatbelts for what looks to be a very busy winter.”
Dr. Mina Hakim, Pediatric Specialist at South Central Family Health Center of Los Angeles, said they are seeing an alarming trend with an increase in respiratory illnesses and viruses in young children.
“The trends are not unusual, what is rare is the moment in which it occurs at the end of October and beginning of November when the increase is normally seen in December, January and February.”
He observed that this upturn so early is alarming because we don’t know what will happen in the rest of the season, and the numbers may keep on rising “So we are taking all the precautions to be ready for the worst.”
RSV, covid and cold
How to distinguish RVS from a cold and covid; and when do parents need to take their children to the emergency room?
Dr. Soni explained that RSV is a common virus that occurs in the winter, a little later in the season, and that it has been present for many decades.
“What we are seeing now with the increase in cases it is that it has surpassed other types of respiratory viruses”.
Why is this happening?
He said that we must not forget that we are still in a pandemic, and children go to school without masks and mix with other children who may not have immunity to many of the viruses they are seeing for the first time.
“Influenza, flu, covid and RSV have similar symptoms, as they can present cough, runny nose, fever and sore throat.”
However, he stressed that RSV has other symptoms such as body pain, fatigue, high fevers and headaches.
“Of course “We need to be very aware of the progress that an infant of less than 6 months presents with cough, congestion and fever because RSV can be particularly complex and devastating in that age group”.
And they may not have a fever, but in the following days they have trouble breathing and they don’t eat well .
“It is really important to make sure you have a good line of communication with your children’s pediatrician and primary care physician during this time.”
How to avoid transmission
Dr. Priya Soni said California is vigilant while the rest of the country is seeing a massive increase in cases in the South in the country, particularly in Georgia and Florida.
“We have to be aware as we head into the holiday season when many people are going to travel around the country”.
He made it clear that many children can be infected with covid and RSV at the same time. “It is important to understand that tests for RSV, influenza and covid are available in emergency rooms and in many pediatricians’ offices.”
Indicated that RSV is spread by being exposed to infected people.
“Therefore, putting a mask on a symptomatic patient will help prevent transmission , and it should also be used by those who are close to a person who is sick with RSV.”
He stressed that it is definitely important to remember that RSV lives on surfaces much longer than other viruses.
“We have to keep doorknobs clean, wear masks and wash our hands during the winter.”
He also recommended not sending children to nurseries if they are sick and keeping them at home.
He said that at the moment there are no vaccines against RSV , but promising studies are being done.
Dr. Soni said that the most important piece of advice is for parents to prepare for the respiratory season.
“They should get nasal devices that help babies get secretions out. The other thing is to invest in a humidifier which is really useful during the season. California’s dry air allows these viruses to multiply; and the second thing is to communicate with your pediatrician; and that both parents and children get the influenza vaccine and the covid booster”.
Dr. Newaskar said that RSV is the main cause of illness in infants, especially those under six months, but it affects all age groups.
“RSV causes bronchitis or inflammation of the respiratory ducts that can result in elevated levels low oxygen. So many babies will end up in the hospital on oxygen support. Usually things like steroids or respiratory treatments are not helpful.
“So, mostly , the treatment is respiratory support therapy, with oxygen if needed, intravenous fluids to keep them well hydrated and wait for the disease to run its course and the patient to improve slowly”.
Dr. Hakim said that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Caucasians, Hispanics, and American Indians have the highest risk of illness and hospitalizations from RSV.
“Babies exposed to tobacco at ages early and have not been breastfed are at a higher risk; and breast-feeding for at least three months helps them.”
I stop RSV
In early November, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion introduced by Supervisor Kathryn Barger seeking to stem spikes in infections by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) that most severely affect young children.
The action came immediately after neighboring Orange County declared a local emergency due to the rapid spread of RSV infections and a record number of pediatric hospitalizations and daily ER visits.
“We need to mobilize our county’s public health resources so we can protect young children of this potentially deadly respiratory virus,” stated supervisor Kathryn Barger.
At the end of October, the Los Angeles County Health Department Eles reported that 7% of the visits to the emergency rooms were from newborns up to 4 years of age, and were related to the RSV virus, which is considered a high number for this season of the year.