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RSV cases spike in North Texas ahead of Thanksgiving
RSV cases at pediatric hospitals in North Texas are up 339 percent since the beginning of October. As you travel for the Thanksgiving holiday, doctors are urging you to take every precaution to try to keep your children safe.
DALLAS - RSV cases at pediatric hospitals in North Texas are up 339 percent since the beginning of October. As you travel for the Thanksgiving holiday, doctors are urging you to take every precaution to try to keep your children safe.
"For a virus this is an ideal time to spread throughout the population, so I think people have to be very, very cautious," said Dr. Jeffrey Kahn, the Director of Infectious Disease at Children's Health.
Thanksgiving travel will make it easy for the virus to spread.
"There's certainly going to be a lot of mingling with family and there's an opportunity for viruses to jump from one person to another," said Dr. Kahn.
READ MORE: Children’s RSV cases continue to spike in North Texas
Kahn says parents need to take steps to try and prevent children from possible exposure.
"Try to limit the number of people who are touching or holding the baby. Anybody who holds the baby has to wash their hands, if anybody is sick, of course, really limit contact with the baby or have them wear a mask. So these are the types of things that will be very, very helpful in trying to reduce the likelihood of the virus spreading from one individual to another," he said.
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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.
There is a vaccine now for children and a vaccine for expectant mothers.
"If you're a pregnant woman, and you expect to deliver anywhere between now and March you can get an RSV vaccine between 32 and 36 weeks of your pregnancy that will actually help prevent you from RSV, but also protect your unborn infant from RSV," Dr. Kahn said.
A runny nose might be the first sign of the virus brewing.
"They'll start developing symptoms two or three days after exposure, and typically it starts with really mild symptoms, just congestion that tends to worsen over two or three days and in some cases can lead to rather significant respiratory tract disease," Dr. Kahn explained.
Those significant diseases include pneumonia and lung infection.
"We do know that the children who are most susceptible to severe disease tend to be less than six months of age and typically those less than three months of age so if you have a child who fits into that category then be very, very careful with them, particularly with a lot of people gathering during the holidays," said Dr. Kahn.
Late last week, the Centers for Disease Control expedited the release of more doses of Beyfortus, the monoclonal antibody treatment that can prevent severe illness.
RSV shot in short supply as cases spike in North Texas
A spike in RSV cases in recent weeks is straining local hospitals. An area mom shares her story of when her daughter was found to be battling RSV and three other viruses at once.
Hospitals and pediactricians have been hard pressed to get doses of the durg because of what the manufacturer calls unprecedented demand nationwide.