Children's Hospital Faces Worst RSV Surge in 25 Years: 'Coming at Such High Numbers'

In recent weeks, the United States has seen an alarming surge in respiratory illness among children — and COVID-19 is not to blame. Common respiratory viruses, particularly RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), are causing an unusually high number of cases and hospitalizations among kids, putting a strain on children's hospitals and even causing some to reach capacity.

One of these hospitals, Connecticut Children's, is so flooded with cases of RSV that staff is exploring using temporary units on the hospital lawn to manage patients and discussing plans to use auxiliary resources through the state and National Guard.

"We saw a little bit of (RSV) last year, but this dramatic increase in cases of RSV in September and October is not that something we have seen before historically," Dr. Juan Salazar, executive vice president and physician-in-chief at Connecticut Children’s, told TODAY.

“I’ve been doing this for 25 years at Connecticut Children’s and in practice for over 30 years. … At least in the hospitals that I worked with, I’ve never seen this level of rapid transmission and the need for hospitalization in kids," Salazar said.

He also told NBC Connecticut that “because they’re all coming at such high numbers, it’s creating a challenge for us to be able to have everyone hospitalized who needs to be hospitalized in the way we normally do it."

RSV is a seasonal respiratory virus that usually peaks in the middle of January or in February. “This is coming at the wrong time,” Salazar told TODAY, adding that he has heard that other children's hospitals in the state and Northeast are "equally slammed" with RSV cases.

In coordination with the Connecticut Department of Public Health, the hospital is exploring next steps if RSV numbers continue to increase. "We would need additional capacity within the Children's Hospital to make sure that we continue our full operations ... probably in the form of 10 to 20 (extra) beds," said Salazar.

The National Guard visited the hospital on Thursday morning, Salazar said, and assessed the grounds so that they are ready to add a temporary hospital unit (a medical or field tent) on the hospital lawn for surge capacity if necessary.

Although anyone can become infected with RSV, it is notorious for causing infections and serious illness in young children, TODAY previously reported. "By the time children are 2 years old, most of them will have been infected with RSV. ... It can cause of close to 60,000 hospitalizations every year in children," NBC News Medical contributor Dr. Natalie Azar said on TODAY Thursday.

The symptoms of RSV are often indistinguishable from things like colds, the flu and COVID-19. "In the majority of people, it causes a mild cold-like illness ... runny nose, a low grade fever, a cough, sneezing," said Azar, adding that these symptoms usually last about one to two weeks and can peak at day five.

Although COVID-19 can be detected with a home test, testing for RSV or other respiratory viruses needs to be done at a doctor’s office, Azar added.

Most people will recover from RSV on their own, but in certain individuals, the virus can go from the upper respiratory tract into the lungs and cause more severe disease, Azar explained. RSV complications include bronchiolitis (a type of lung infection) or pneumonia, TODAY previously reported.

It's important for parents and caregivers of young children and infants who can't communicate to know how to recognize signs of severe disease, said Azar. These include poor feeding, irritability, wheezing, or shortness of breath.

"Those are the kinds of symptoms and signs that you’d want to reach out to your pediatrician," Azar added. Treatment typically involves supportive care (rehydration or managing the airways).

There is a treatment available for people who are at risk of severe illness, which includes premature infants, children under the age of six months, children with heart or lung problems or weakened immune systems, said Azar. It's a monthly monoclonal antibody injection (called Palivizumab, per the CDC) that can that can help prevent severe disease, Azar added.

Although there is no vaccine yet to protect against RSV, you can protect yourself against respiratory viruses this season by getting your annual flu shot and COVID-19 booster. "That's something that parents can immediately do right now to actually help themselves and help us," said Salazar.

Some experts are concerned that this surge in pediatric respiratory illness could coincide with a severe flu season and a resurgence of COVID-19, TODAY previously reported. "We worry about hospital capacity and of course cases of long Covid, so we’re certainly keeping an eye on that," said Azar.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com