There's a startling new study that says RSV is responsible for one in 50 child deaths. It's an illness that's sweeping the nation and taking a toll on healthcare systems, including in Greater Boston.
What is RSV?
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RSV stands for respiratory syncytial virus, which is an infection that disrupts the airways and usually feels like the common cold.
Almost all children get the virus by the time they're five, but this surge is a product of the coronavirus pandemic, when isolation and masking disrupted the typical spread, Dr. Brian Cummings at MassGeneral Hospital for Children said.
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"A lot of RSV was not being spread in the previous years," he said. That lowered the number of people with immunity, and "now that it's circulating a little more typically, there are many more people susceptible."
Scary Moments for One Mother
One mom said a trip to the emergency room likely saved her newborn son's life.
Sofi Madison said her then 5-week-old son Ollie started having a cough, but things got worse. Luckily, she was able to get one of the last beds at Boston Medical Center. He's doing okay now, but the ordeal was a scary experience.
"The doctors went from 'Go home and let us know if it gets worse,' to quite literally checking him for a pulse when he got to the hospital," Madison said.
Sounding the Alarm
Doctors in the Boston area have issued a warning about the virus.
At MassGeneral, doctors have already seen 1,000 cases in the first week of November. MGH and other hospitals in the system are operating over capacity because of an influx of patients and staffing shortages.
"There's really been exponential growth," Dr. Cummings said at a briefing Thursday, noting that most hospitals in the Boston area are finding a way to deal with the surge despite being over capacity.
A new study out from British and Dutch scientists found nearly 2% of healthy infants are hospitalized with RSV before their first birthday. A majority were younger than 3 months old. One in 18 infants hospitalized with RSV required treatment in ICU.
Help on the Way
Pfizer is working on a vaccine, which the company says is in its third phase of trials.
If your infant or young child is having a hard time breathing, doctors say to take them to the emergency room right away.
