Doctors worry about rise in RSV, COVID cases in kids following Labor Day weekend

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) - Some doctors have concerns we will see spikes in COVID and RSV cases in kids after many families traveled for Labor Day.

"From last month to this month, we've seen a significant increase in [RSV] cases," Dr. Kevin Dahlman said.

That's unusual for RSV cases this time of year. Dr. Kevin Dahlman, medical director at Aurora Children's Health, wants parents to be extra vigilant in the coming weeks.

"We have seen a fourfold increase in diagnoses and hospitalizations just in the last six weeks," he said.

Dr. Dahlman said people traveling over the holiday weekend could lead to more kids contracting RSV. RSV cases usually do not hit a peak until winter.

"If we see a rapid rise, a couple things come to mind in that is it going to continue to rise to unprecedented levels or are we just going to see a prolonged peak? Both are just not good situations for young infants," Dr. Dahlman said.

He said parents should pay close attention to their kids for any signs of distress.

"We want to make sure we educate everybody to say hey, if your child looks like they are having trouble breathing, come into our office," Dr. Dahlman said.

"We've seen a spike after every major holiday, so it wouldn't surprise me if there was one after this, too," Dr. Nasia Safdar said.

Dr. Safdar, medical director for infection prevention at UW Health, said doctors are also paying close attention to a spike in COVID cases amongst kids. If you traveled and potentially may have been exposed to someone with COVID, Dr. Safdar said to get your child tested, even if they do not have symptoms.

"There will be some cases, it's inevitable, it's just a matter of can you contain the numbers," she said.

Dr. Safdar said if we do see a spike in COVID cases following Labor Day, we could see a rise in cases next week.