Children's Health reports recent spike in RSV cases
DALLAS - Children's Health System is reporting the highest number of RSV cases this year.
There's been a more than 100% increase since October 1.
Many of the babies getting sick right now were born back in 2020.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, there were almost no cases of RSV infection because people were masking and isolating.
But the numbers now mirror pre-COVID cases, and there’s concern they could keep going up.
"We're certainly seeing a lot of numbers, and the numbers have increased quite dramatically over the last couple of weeks," said Dr. Jeffrey Kahn, director of Infectious Disease at Children's Health and professor at UT Southwestern.
The week of October 1, Children's reported 125 cases of RSV.
By the week of October 22, there were 291 cases of the virus, a whopping 132% jump in sick kids with RSV.
"First there's a couple of sniffles and a cough, and then it gets worse and then the children have difficulty feeding, and then they have difficulty breathing because they're so congested and they're coughing so much," Dr. Kahn said.
CDC recommends RSV shots to protect babies from illness
RSV is the leading cause of infant hospitalization, according to the CDC.
In August, the Centers for Disease Control recommended a new drug for use in pediatric patients.
"This new product is what's called a monoclonal antibody. The antibodies are what protects us from infections. Antibodies are what's induced by vaccines, so for the product that we're giving the infant is actually the antibody that will protect them from severe disease," Dr. Kahn explained.
Severe disease can put children in the hospital for weeks or longer.
"For children who have really bad respiratory problems, we have to go to the ICU and we have to give them supplemental oxygen or put a mask on, or in very severe cases, we have to put them on a ventilator," Dr. Kahn said. "So that's the therapy now for very young infants. Because they're so congested, they don't tend to feed very well, so another type of therapy that we use is IV hydration or give them tube feedings to make sure that they're well hydrated."
Doctor discusses a spike in local RSV cases
Respiratory illness is on the rise among North Texas kids. Children's Health in Dallas is reporting the highest number of RSV cases this year. Dr. Jeffrey Kahn, the director of infectious diseases at Children's Health, joined Good Day to talk about why doctors are seeing such a big spike in cases.
Anyone whose baby has symptoms is told to get them to a doctor.
"We're seeing a lot of kids. The numbers have gone up quite steeply over the last couple of weeks and parents should be on the lookout for this infection," Dr. Kahn said.
Even though there is a new approved treatment for infants, there is a nationwide shortage of the drug.
Vaccines are available for those over 60 and pregnant women.
Dr. Khan recommends expectant mothers get the RSV protection between weeks 32 and 36 of pregnancy to passing that protection to their unborn baby.