As if COVID-19 – and all its variants – murder hornets, and the possibility of getting salmonella or E. coli from the foods we eat, there is another threat looming.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently warned of a deadly virus that is rapidly spreading throughout several American states. Officials say that Oklahoma is one of the states affected by the increase in numbers.
According to the CDC, Respiratory Syncytial Virus is a common respiratory virus that typically causes cold-like symptoms. Most adults can fight the infection and recover in a day or two. However, RSV can be serious or even fatal in infants and older adults. It is the most common cause of bronchitis – inflammation of the small airways in the lung – and pneumonia in children under the age of one.
Dr. Cameron Mantor from the Oklahoma Children’s Hospital said the numbers are concerning.
“We have patients that are in the hospital, particularly young children who can get quite ill, be in the ICU, on the ventilator, have true respiratory failure from this virus,” Mantor said in an interview with Ari Shapiro.
The CDC issued a health advisory to clinicians and caregivers about the increase in RSV cases.
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is issuing this health advisory to notify clinicians and caregivers about increased interseasonal respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity across parts of the Southern United States,” the CDC posted. “Due to this increased activity, CDC encourages broader testing for RSV among patients presenting with acute respiratory illness who test negative for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. RSV can be associated with severe disease in young children and older adults. This health advisory also serves as a reminder to healthcare personnel, childcare providers, and staff of long-term care facilities to avoid reporting to work while acutely ill – even if they test negative for SARS-CoV-2."
The virus causes over 58,000 people annually to end up in the hospital and causes between 100 and 500 fatalities among young children in the US. It also causes over 177,000 hospitalizations and 14,000 deaths annually in those aged 65 and over.
Mantor attributed the sudden spike in numbers to the previous decrease in COVID numbers.
“So, we think back before June, and what were we doing? And we were really doing a pretty good job of masking, and all of that prevents the spread of these respiratory viruses,” Mantor noted in the interview. “And then we saw that the COVID numbers started to go down, so we unmasked, and we got together. And we think that, OK, now we're out there spreading the virus, and that's what's happening.”
Mantor warns that the numbers will more than likely increase due to schools not being able to mandate masks.
“There's no question. It happens in the wintertime, and with the number of cases that we're seeing today, that's a great concern of ours,” Mantor said. “We know that respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, is a typical respiratory virus, just as is the coronavirus. And they are spread like normal respiratory viruses. And when kids get amongst themselves and are unmasked, they're going to spread the virus.”
Mantor advises parents to be vigilant about RSV and COVID.
“It's sort of the same thing. They're both spread in the same way,” Mantor said. “So, parents, if you feel like you've got a cough or cold, protect your kids by either not being around them as best you can or just wear a mask. Wash your hands is very, very important. COVID is the same way, but for adults, we have the ability to vaccinate. So, you can absolutely protect your kids by going and getting vaccinated.”
“And then lastly, when your kids go to school, if they're ill, you know, maybe it's better to keep your kids home,” Mantor added. “Or if they are well and they're going to go to school, there's no reason that parents can't ask their child to proactively wear a mask. They're used to it now. It's quite common.”
The CDC gave a list of symptoms, stating they are like the symptoms of a common cold, but the illness can prove fatal for infants and young children. The symptoms to look for are trouble breathing or pauses in their breaths, being unusually upset or in active, coughing with yellow, green or gray mucus, refusing to breastfeed or bottle-feed, a high-pitched whistling or wheezing noise when they breathe and dehydration.
The signs of dehydration in infants are lack of tears when crying, and little to no urine in their diaper for six hours.