Symptoms include difficult breathing, fever in a baby who is younger than 2 months, a fever that lasts for 3 days or longer, or fever that doesn’t respond to fever-fighting medication.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is quite common, usually causing mild cold-like symptoms. But Fox 8 of Cleveland reports that some hospitals are reporting higher than usual RSV cases in young children. The Cleveland Clinic is one of the hospitals seeing a rise in RSV, as reported by WKYC, the NBC affiliate in Cleveland. In addition, Erik Martin, the chief nursing officer at Norton Children’s Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, tells Fox 8 that he’s also seen a significant rise in RSV.
“In the last four months, Norton Children’s Hospital has diagnosed more than 800 cases,” Martin said. “During the same time period a year ago, we had fewer than 300. We also had positive RSV tests throughout the summer. That’s rather uncommon as during a typical summer we can go weeks without a confirmed case.”
Edith Bracho-Sanchez, MD, a primary care pediatrician and assistant professor of pediatrics at Columbia University, said that RSV cases have spiked there as well.
Just how serious the problem is cannot be precisely pinpointed because the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not track data on cases, hospitalizations, or deaths caused by RSV. However, the CDC does say that RSV “can be serious, especially for infants and older adults.” RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in children younger than 1 year of age in the United States.
CDC spokesman Scott Pauley told the Fox 8 that “the season for RSV in the U.S. runs fall, winter, and spring. We can’t say if it has peaked for several reasons-first, this season isn’t over yet (since we just started winter); second, NREVSS [the National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System] doesn’t track actual cases, it collects laboratory results; finally reporting delays happen for some labs so the data on those charts may change.”
Patricia Emmanuel, MD, chair of pediatrics at USF Health in Tampa, told Fox 8 that “two of the main reasons why babies get admitted to the hospital is either because their oxygen is low-they can’t keep up the oxygen level-or they're getting dehydrated.”
Other symptoms to look for include difficult breathing, fever in a baby who is younger than 2 months, a fever that lasts for 3 days or longer, or fever that doesn’t respond to fever-fighting medication.
Dear Helpdesk: Working in a Toxic Health Care Environment
March 28th 2024Dear Helpdesk is your steadfast companion, offering life coaching and workplace advice from 2 seasoned IPs for some of your most challenging real-life situations. Let us help you navigate the intersection between work and life, guiding you to navigate the dynamic world of infection prevention with confidence and grace. This article is on handling a toxic health care environment.
Product Locator: Spring and Early Mother's Day Gift Guide for Infection Prevention Personnel
March 27th 2024Whether it's a spring holiday, birthdays, or no reason at all, infection prevention personnel love to give and receive gifts that help at the end of a stressful day. Infection Control Today® offers some gift ideas for infection prevention personnel and their families.
Catching Up With Vangie Dennis, AORN 2022-2023 President at AORN 2024
March 26th 2024Infection Control Today (ICT) had the privilege of catching up with Vangie Dennis, MSN, RN, CNOR, CMLSO, at the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses' (AORN’s) International Surgical Conference & Expo 2024. As the former president of AORN and an esteemed figure in perioperative services, Vangie Dennis shared insights into her recent endeavors and the exciting new chapter she's embarked upon.
How To Optimize Your Time Management Strategies for the Busy Infection Preventionist
March 25th 2024Is your calendar resembling a chaotic masterpiece of overlapping tasks? Join the club of infection preventionists striving to balance responsibilities. Dive into proven strategies from a fellow infection preventionist to reclaim control of your time, streamline tasks, and boost productivity effectively. This is an IP Lifeline article.