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Jacksonville doctors notice slight rise in RSV cases

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is on the rise according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It’s typically seen in the fall and winter months, the CDC reports.

While the CDC reports the percentage of ER and urgent care visits among children under 5 decreased in July, RSV cases were notably above levels at this time in previous years. “We’re starting to see some now for sure,” Dr. Elizabeth DeVos at University of Florida Health said.

She says she’s noticed the uptick in RSV cases within the last two months.

DeVos says it probably has to do with people easing up on mask wearing earlier in the summer, when COVID-19 seemed to be dying down.

“We were social distancing and wearing masks and being really careful about hygiene, and so as soon as we started to return to some of the normal practices, allowed kids to get together more, then we also started to see more of these common respiratory viruses that we’d been preventing with masking,” she said. Dr. Saman Soleymani at Avecina Medical has also noticed an uptick in cases.

He says to take it with a grain of salt though, as it may be due to the fact that more people than ever before are getting tested for COVID-19 when they have respiratory symptoms, only to find out they have other illnesses like RSV.

RSV can lead to bronchitis and pneumonia. It typically affects children, the elderly and those with lung problems.

DeVos says the uptick is no cause for alarm, but is a reminder to continue practicing good hygiene as we fight COVID-19.