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CLEVELAND, Ohio Cleveland Clinic Childrens Hospital is seeing a significant rise in cases of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, an illness that causes respiratory tract infections in infants.

Most of the children hospitalized for RSV at the Clinic have been less than 2 years old, and some are as young as 6 months, said Dr. Camille Sabella, head of the Center for Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the childrens hospital.

In adults and older, healthy children, RSV symptoms are mild and typically mimic the common cold.

But RSV can cause severe infection in some people, especially premature babies, older adults, infants and adults with heart and lung disease, or anyone with a very weak immune system.

RSV is the most frequent cause of bronchiolitis inflammation of the small airway passages entering the lungs in infants and young children. The illness accounts for approximately 125,000 hospitalizations and 250 infant deaths every year in the United States, according to an American Academy of Pediatrics study.

The virus typically begins circulating in the fall, and peaks in January or February. This is prime season, Sabella said.

As of December, visits to the Clinics pediatric emergency department for flu and RSV were up 20% over December 2018, Sabella said. Numbers for RSV cases alone were not available.

The Clinic is also seeing a rise in flu cases, it reported Wednesday. Having peaks in both influenza and RSV results in more hospitalizations and emergency department visits, Sabella said.

At University Hospitals, the number of RSV cases declined for the week ending Jan. 4, as compared with previous weeks, the hospital system reported. Flu activity was also slightly lower from a peak seen during the week of Dec. 22-28.

Dr. Amy Ray, director of infection prevention at MetroHealth, said in a statement that the hospital system is seeing patients with symptoms that include fever, sore throat, cough and body aches. Many are being tested for both influenza and RSV.

The number of RSV diagnoses hit 80 five weeks ago and have been stable around 60 or 70 for the following four weeks, Ray said.

MetroHealth is still seeing widespread cases of flu. Flu season usually peaks around late January but its not certain when it will peak this year, Ray said.

Hospitals are not required to report cases of RSV to county health officials. However, the percentage of emergency department visits for congestion and/or cough was at an eight-year high last week, according to the Cuyahoga County Board of Health.

RSV spreads through direct person-to-person contact and can live on surfaces, Sabella said. Unlike the flu virus, the RSV virus does not survive in the air.

Premature babies or infants and adults who have chronic heart or lung problems may get a severe case of RSV, according to the Mayo Clinic website. Symptoms of severe RSV infection in infants include short, shallow and rapid breathing; cough; lack of appetite; tiredness; and irritability.

There is no vaccine to prevent RSV. Ways to stop the spread of the virus include disinfecting surfaces and shared toys, covering coughs and sneezes with an elbow, washing hands frequently and avoiding touching the face and eyes.

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Cleveland Clinic Childrens Hospital sees rise in cases of respiratory illness RSV - cleveland.com

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