BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health advisory on an increase in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
RVS infections usually occur during the fall and winter seasons but by April 2020, RSV reports had decreased rapidly, the CDC says it’s likely due to COVID-19 safety measures.
“This year we hardly saw any mostly attributed to a combination of masking and social distancing and not going to daycare and stuff like that,” said Dr. Neal Spears, St. Joseph Health Pediatrics.
In March, the CDC began to see an increase in cases, with most being reported in southern states, including Texas.
“We’re seeing a rather unexpected and surprising burst in cases in the summertime. It’s something in my 20 years of practice in Texas I’ve never experienced,” said Spears.
Spears says most severe cases are found in infants.
“Of course it’s hard to tell if the virus or mother virus in the older population but in children under [one years old] it really gets in the lungs and it tends to linger for a couple of weeks and they have a high rate of ear infections and sinus infections and things that come as they fight through this nasty little virus,” said Spears. “In our older kids and adults it’s really indistinguishable from any other common respiratory virus with mostly sore throats and running noses, it doesn’t really affect the lungs in older children as much.”
Spears says although symptoms could look similar to COVID-19 symptoms, there are some clear distinctions.
“RSV is a snot machine, they have just copious amounts of secretions just pouring out of the nose. They also get a fine characteristic of crackle in the lungs which doesn’t really happen with covid,” said Spears.
According to the CDC, every year 58,000 children five or younger are hospitalized with RSV causing anywhere from 100 to 500 deaths. The number of hospitalizations increases to 177,000 and 14,000 deaths of patients 65 and older.
Health Officials say testing for RSV is important if a child is sick and around younger children or an adult over the age of 65.
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