COVID cases among kids are down but Flu and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) are on the rise.
“It’s really unusual to see that in the summer. And now, we have two summers in a row when RSV surges, and actually our area, Houston, we never really returned to baseline where we had in a very few RSV cases,” explained pediatric infectious disease Dr. Michael Chang with UT Health and Children’s Memorial Hermann.
RSV symptoms can be like the common cold: cough, fever, and a runny nose.
However, in babies, it can be dangerous.
“Infants less than six months are going to be at higher risk for severe RSV. Infants that have any type of underlying lung disease. So, premature babies under two years and still have chronic lung disease or dysplasia, they are at risk for potentially more severe cases, and then infants under a year or two years that have some sort of underlying congenital heart disease, they can be at risk for severe disease as well,” Dr. Chang said.
The Flu can also be dangerous in young kids and older adults.
Right now, the number of Flu cases resembles more along the lines of what occurs near the peak of the season.
According to Chang, the peak doesn’t usually start until after Thanksgiving.
Doctors don’t really know why both viruses are surging now but assume with school, daycare, and work lives back to normal, respiratory illnesses are infecting more people.
“There’s a lot of people out there who I will say ‘Oh, I want to get the Flu vaccine. I just haven’t gotten around to it,’ So, for those people, you need to go get vaccinated as soon as possible!” Chang added.
