U.S. hospital emergency departments are struggling to treat sick babies and other children in the face of an unprecedented surge in severe RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) infections.
RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways in the lung) and pneumonia (infection of the lungs) in children under 1 year of age in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Tracking by the CDC shows that nearly 5,000 tests came back positive for the virus as of October 8.
While the respiratory illness typically peaks in January or February, a CDC official told NBC News that some U.S. regions are already hitting case-level highs.
The spike in RSV, combined with the early onset of flu season and a possible winter COVID-19 surge, has public health officials concerned about the capacity of the U.S. healthcare system to treat patients in the coming months.
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