BUFFALO (WBEN) - Doctors at Oishei Children's Hospital are concerned about the unusually high number of RSV cases they're seeing this season, which also came a lot earlier than what is typically expected.
According to the CDC, "RSV is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. Most people recover in a week or two, but RSV can be serious, especially for infants and older adults." The virus, for which there is no vaccine, is the number-one cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in children under the age of 1.
Usually, RSV will begin to hit in December and January, but this year, the first case of the virus was recorded in September
"This year, the strain seems to be particularly bad - we're breaking records in our emergency room and our pediatric ICU with really sick kids," said Stephen Turkovic, the Chief Medical Officer at Oishei. "Over the last couple of years, we've seen 60-70, upwards of 80 kids admitted at this time. As of today, we've had over 200 kids that have been admitted with RSV."
Turkovic noted that the hospital is flexible enough to handle the volume of RSV cases even though the average number of ER patients in a 24-hour period has gone up from 115 to about 180.
But, what symptoms should parents look for when deciding if they should seek medical attention?
"The most significant distinguishing factor between calling your pediatrician or going to an Urgent Care is whether or not your child is having any difficulty breathing," he said. "If you notice that they're breathing fast, if you notice that they're...ribs look like they're getting sucked in like they're using their extra muscles to help them breathe, those are indications that you should come to the hospital immediately."
RSV is a highly contagious virus that has the ability to live on surfaces for several hours, but Turkovic says the best thing to do to prevent contraction is to be diligent about hand washing.
