There’s an ‘Unprecedented’ Surge of RSV Infections for Infants and Toddlers

The symptoms of the RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) are pretty much the same as in the case of the simple flu: sneezing, coughing, runny nose, fever, decrease in appetite, and wheezing.

According to Yahoo! Life, shortly after the first waves of the COVID pandemic, doctors are dealing with a significant surge of RSV infecting infants and toddlers. However, there’s also some good news here.

The majority of those getting RSV recover quickly

Dr. Jason Terk, who’s a paediatrician from Cook Children’s Pediatrics in Keller, Texas, brings the great news that the vast majority of those who become infected with RSV manage to recover from the infection without even much need of treatment. He declared for Yahoo! Life:

We’ve seen many, many, many children with RSV and a very, very small minority of those kids end up getting into trouble that requires hospitalization.

Terk also admits that the new surge in RSV cases is a significant deviation from the virus’ standard cycle. While the doctor believes that it’s “unprecedented”, he also said for Yahoo! Life:

If you look at typical RSV, it’s a type of illness that we see usually starting in late fall into the wintertime and then goes away usually by late winter, early spring.

Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned about the rise in RSV infections and particularly for Southern American states. Also according to the CDC, people who become infected with RSV can spread the disease to others, usually for 3 to 8 days. Some of the patients who have a weak immune system and some infants can still spread the virus for a maximum of 4 weeks even if they no longer manifest symptoms.

The respiratory syncytial (sin-SISH-uhl) virus can also become serious in some rare cases, especially when it comes to infants and older adults.