Protecting against RSV during the holidays
LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – We’ve reported on the surge in Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) cases among kids in the Bluegrass. State leaders this week saying pediatric hospitals and ICU beds are filling up and it’s not just impacting kids.
“We see the surge in kids and we will almost assuredly see a surge in adults,” says Nicholas Van Sickels, an infectious disease professor at U.K.
Right now, six adults are hospitalized with RSV at U.K. hospital. U.K. says this number does fluctuate a lot as people are admitted or discharged. Van Sickels says most adults who get RSV will experience a mild head cold that might be annoying, but won’t require hospitalization. However, he says people with underlying medical conditions or weakened immune systems should be more cautious about the disease.
“They can get more sick with RSV. They can get pneumonia from RSV or, conversely, the RSV can make their underlying medical problems get worse. So they get hospitalized maybe not directly because of the RSV but because it triggered some other problem they were having that was maybe stable but got worse because of the RSV,” says Van Sickels. “The warning sign for anyone with any respiratory infection, especially if you have other medical problems, is if you start having trouble breathing, if you start having pain in your chest, if you’re no longer eating, if you have high fevers and you really can’t get them to break, you need to go see someone.”
RSV can spread quickly from children to adults and for those with compromised immune systems like seniors, it could land them in the hospital. RSV can be spread through droplets – like from coughing and sneezing – and touching contaminated surfaces. So what can be done to help keep everyone safe and healthy this holiday season?
“Especially going into the Thanksgiving holiday with RSV, COVID and flu all having Thanksgiving soup, I would suggest if you’re going to be around a lot of kids, nothing against children but if you’re around a lot of kids, wash your hands, especially after you interact with them,” says Van Sickels. “Have some of that hand sanitizer there to wash your hands after you’re with grandkids or other small children.”
Long-term care facilities say they learned a lot about how to protect the older generation without sacrificing visits from family during COVID so they feel prepared with the rising numbers of RSV cases.
“They are masking up. They are encouraging or requiring that their visitors mask up as well and I know we’re all tired of wearing masks but one thing we know is that works, especially when you’re dealing with vulnerable populations such as our elders in the skilled-nursing facilities,” says Betsy Johnson, president of the Kentucky Association of Healthcare Facilities.
