Cook Children's seeing spike in early RSV cases

Doctors at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth have treated nearly 300 children for RSV over the past two weeks. Those numbers are usually seen between December and January.

FORT WORTH, Texas - North Texas doctors say RSV, a virus that can severely sicken young children and older adults, is spreading faster and earlier this year.

The Fort Worth hospital has reportedly been seeing more than 1,000 children a day in its ER and urgent care centers. That’s causing longer wait times.

Records show doctors have treated nearly 300 RSV patients at the hospital over the past two weeks. Those are numbers they usually see between December and January.

That number in a year-to-year comparison quadruples the hospital’s diagnosed RSV cases for all of September 2021.

RSV is a common pediatric respiratory virus that infects the lungs and breathing passages.

"It’s a virus that causes typically cold-like symptoms in children and adults," explained Dr. Kimberly Giuliano with the Cleveland Clinic. "But in younger children, it can cause much more significant congestion and cough, high fevers, sometimes breathing and feeding difficulties and irritabilities."

While some children with RSV require hospitalization, most do not.

Jeff and Zoe Green’s baby girl, 4-month-old Lindy, is battling her case of RSV. She was diagnosed at an urgent care in Benbrook.

"The doctor there figured out pretty quick what was going on," Jeff said. "They did some swabs, and he got with Cooks and got us over here as quick as they could."

Doctors are commending the family’s protocol and urging parents to consider the overwhelmed hospital staff.

Cook Children’s encourages parents to only go to the ER or an urgent care center for emergencies such as trouble breathing. Pediatrician’s offices can test for RSV, flu or COVID-19 and treat most cases.

"Please don’t come to the emergency room if you are only looking for a test," said Dr. Laura Romano with Cook Children’s.

Doctors say you should see a pediatrician for mild symptoms.

"If you see their belly moving in and out with every breath, if you see the skin between their ribs being sucked in or right here above their collarbone, that tells us they’re having difficulty breathing, and they need to be seen sooner rather than later," Dr. Romano said. "If they are only showing mild symptoms, low grade fevers, runny nose, stuffy nose, they are maintaining their own hydration, eating well, drinking well, and you just want to be able to put a name to the virus they have, please don’t come to the emergency room."

Dr. Romano says while not as significant, flu cases are also up. That only adds to their concern for the months ahead.

"RSV activity for us normally peaks in later on in the winter in late November, early December and then stays high until January when it starts to go down," she said. "The fact that we’re seeing this many cases so early is very concerning. It makes a lot of us alarmed about what the rest of cold and flu season is going to look like."

Thankfully, Lindy is improving.

"Hopefully, we’ll go home in the morning," Jeff said. "They’re saying she should be okay."

Doctors also urged families to keep sick children at home to help keep the illness from spreading.

Fort Worth Health