Children's Wisconsin sees surge in pediatric RSV cases

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WISCONSIN (CBS 58) -- A spike in respiratory illness known as RSV is contributing to long waits in emergency rooms and demand for hospital beds. 

RSV's overloading the hospital system all across the country. Depending on when you arrive in the emergency department, it can take hours for a bed to open up. One pediatric specialist in northern Illinois tells us her hospital's been inundated with calls -- even from Wisconsin hospitals that need to find their patients a bed.

A little over a week ago, Steven Balka's 7-week-old son was suffering at home.

"When he would cough, it was almost as if he was struggling to breathe and struggling to cough all at the same time," said Balka.

One week later, the little guy's still in the ICU.

"RSV specifically creates a lot of nasal secretions and in our youngest, in our babies, they're obligant nose breathers," said Dr. Michael Meyer, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit medical director at Children's Wisconsin. "And so when you fill the nose with secretions, it's very difficult for that child to breathe, and it's difficult to eat."

The number of RSV cases at Children's Wisconsin has greatly increased this month.

"Approximately two to three weeks ago we were averaging five to six children a day that had an RSV infection. As of this week, we see over 30 children hospitalized on a daily basis with RSV," said Dr. Meyer.

Dr. Meyer says parents should watch for fever. For infants 28 days or younger, fever higher than 100.4 is dangerous. The color around a child's lips is also telling.

"More worrisome is if you see color changes, especially any blueness or grayness around the lips. It's something I would say to a family, it's time to seek additional care," said Dr. Meyer.

RSV's spread through hand-to-mouth contact. Parents taking care of a sick child will want to wash their hands thoroughly, because adults can get it too.

"We all know that that sick child wants to cuddle up in your lap, and unfortunately, that's where many of our parents pick up the infection too," said Dr. Meyer.

The CDC sent us a statement saying, "U.S. children ages four and younger are the most likely to be hospitalized with RSV. CDC data from seven pediatric medical centers shows that the proportion of children with acute respiratory illness who tested positive for RSV in emergency departments and inpatient facilities has increased for the past five weeks."

Dr. Meyer says the majority of RSV cases are mild to moderate. He also says only a handful of cases that warrant a hospital stay will need to be in the ICU.

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