COLORADO SPRINGS — Heading into the Thanksgiving holiday here is serious concern about the rapid rise of RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) cases in Colorado.
”I think the thing that has probably been most alarming this season for us is just the early nature and really just the high level of impact to the community,” said Children’s Hospital Colorado, Associate Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Kevin Carney.
Numbers are dramatically worse than any recent RSV season.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) uses five counties in the Denver area as a sample group of trends in the state. From the five county area there are 836 kids and 59 adults in the hospital with RSV.
The number of available pediatric ICU beds across the state was down to just two this week.
The number of hospitalizations is the highest it has been in five RSV seasons. It nearly four times higher than the next highest year.
“We are, at best still at the peak of RSV, and in the last two to three weeks flu has really started shooting up,” said Carney, “And so I don't see a scenario in the next month or two where we don't have very busy emergency departments and inpatient units.”
Doctors say parents of young children need to use extra caution this holiday season. They know there is pressure to get together during the holidays, but if you have infants and toddlers you need to avoid others who are sick. What appears a minor cold in an adult can become dangerous RSV for little ones.
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