US seeing rise in respiratory virus cases this summer
Part of the concern is the age group it's hitting: 1 and 2 year olds.
Part of the concern is the age group it's hitting: 1 and 2 year olds.
Part of the concern is the age group it's hitting: 1 and 2 year olds.
Pediatricians across the U.S. are seeing unusually higher numbers of respiratory syncytial virus in children this summer — a virus doctors never used to see in kids in the summer.
The typical cold months' virus is also being seen in Pennsylvania, but the case numbers aren't as high as in other states. Part of the concern is the age group it's hitting: one and two-year-olds. Symptoms include a runny nose, cough, congestion and sometimes a fever.
Because of COVID-19 lockdowns, children haven't been exposed to the normal viruses they would have been exposed to in the past year and haven't been able to build up an immunity to viruses like respiratory syncytial virus.
"People are getting together more, people are getting closer together, so we know when that happens, any of these viral illnesses tend to spread a whole lot more," Allegheny Health Network pediatrician Dr. Michael Petrosky said.
Despite the increased respiratory syncytial virus cases, Petrosky said he's more concerned about children spreading coronavirus to unvaccinated grandparents and parents than passing on respiratory syncytial virus.
He encourages caregivers to take good care of themselves with good hand hygiene and hydration. Petrosky also said that while the old rule used to be to keep your child home if they have a fever, are throwing up or have diarrhea, he now suggests that if children show any of the respiratory syncytial virus signs, they should stay home because of how easily respiratory syncytial virus spreads.
That's not always easy for working parents to do.