Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a very common illness that infects almost every child by the age of 2.  RSV presents with cold-like symptoms, runny nose, a cough, and fever and it is highly contagious and can spread very quickly through daycares, school settings, and long-term care facilities.  Once a person is infected, they remain contagious for 3 to 8 days, and in babies and people with a weakened immune system patients can be contagious for up to 4 weeks.

 

While we commonly think of children when it comes to RSV, the reality is anyone can contract the virus, and we commonly forget to remember RSV in the older population and in those with a weakened immune system.  In the United States, in kids under the age of 5, we see an average of 58,000 hospitalizations and 500 deaths annually.  But when it comes to older adults the number jump significantly, 177,000 hospitalizations and 14,000 every year.

 

Starting in 2020, and continuing through the summer of 2021, there was a significant drop in RSV cases, which makes sense because we were limiting our contact with individuals outside of our individual homes.  And long-term care facilities were restricting or limiting visitors.  But now those limitations and restrictions have gone by the wayside.  It is also thought that since new moms may not have had a recent exposure to RSV that she is not passing antibodies through breast milk as she normally would.

 

Hospitals are filing up so quickly that play areas are being converted into patient rooms and children are being placed in adult beds.  RSV season also started early this year, the CDC reported that during the final week of October that there were 7,000 more positive RSV tests than have been seen during previous surges.

 

Since there is no specific treatment for RSV treatment centers around managing the patient’s symptoms and thoroughly washing your hands and decontaminating your ambulance and equipment.

 

Reference:

The Associated Press Health and Science Department. (2022, Nov. 1). What’s Behind Worrying RSV Surge in U.S. Children’s Hospitals?  Retrieved from https://emsairway.com/2022/11/01/whats-behind-worrying-rsv-surge-in-u-s-childrens-hospitals/.