Cases of childhood virus eight times higher than pre-Covid – as health chiefs issue winter warning
CASES of a nasty childhood virus are on the rise as a result of Covid restrictions easing.
The number of RSV infections is currently eight times higher than the same time period before the pandemic.
The “out-of-season” trend has resulted in PHE giving a warning to parents to watch out for symptoms.
It’s expected the wave will continue well into the winter, when experts have warned of pressure on NHS paediatric intensive care units.
Azra Ghani, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at Imperial College London, told the Sun: “This is of concern for the NHS because although RSV is a mild infection in the majority of children, a few require intensive care.
“Paediatric intensive care units are limited in capacity.”
RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) is an infection of the lungs and respiratory tract.
It’s similar to the common cold but can be severe in babies under a year old, especially premature babies.
They could develop bronchiolitis, an inflammatory infection of the lower airways, which can make it hard to breath.
The elderly, people with lung and heart conditions and those with weak immune systems are also more at risk of a serious illness.
Most children have been infected with the virus by age two.
But because of the Covid restrictions, social contacts have been minimised across all age groups, meaning viruses other than Covid have not been in circulation as much.
Since lockdowns have eased up over the spring and summer, cases have soared as youngsters are now exposed to the bug.
Those who would have typically been infected in the past couple of years – particularly during the winter – are now catching the virus.
According to Public Health England, 8.9 per cent of people being tested for RSV are returning a positive result.
The figure, based on tests between July 12 and July 18, is up from 1.2 per cent five weeks ago.
In the same time period in 2019, before Covid, the figure was less than one per cent. It rose to 0.7 per cent in July last summer.
Cases are highest in those aged 0-4 years old (17 per cent), followed by 5-14 year olds (eight per cent).
Looking at hospitalisations, they are significantly higher than previous waves.
Some 261 kids have been admitted in a fortnight, of which 18 went to ICU.
It is almost exclusively under five year olds who are being admitted to hospital.
Winter warning
Health Minister Lord Bethell warned other parents to be alert to the signs of RSV due to his own experiences.
He said: “I remember the long nights in hospital when my 8-week old daughter fought off RSV.
“The image of her tiny body plugged into those machines and gasping for air will not leave me. I would not wish those moments for anyone.
“It’s a nasty bug, so watch out for it.”
What are the symptoms of RSV?
Symptoms of RSV include a congested or runny nose, sneezing and headache, just like a cold.
It can also cause a dry cough, fever and sore throat – the same symptoms listed as the NHS as being most predictive of Covid.
Short, shallow and rapid breathing, difficulty breathing, lack of eating, lethargy and irritability are additional symptoms of a severe RSV infection.
As babies and young children have small, underdeveloped airways, they’re more likely to get bronchiolitis, which is usually mild.
The early symptoms of bronchiolitis are similar to those of a common cold but can develop over a few days into a high temperature of 37.8°C or above (fever), a dry and persistent cough, difficulty feeding, rapid or noisy breathing (wheezing).
NHS England began planning for the potential rise in children being admitted to hospitals with respiratory infections in April 2021.
PHE warned the NHS there could be a 20 to 50 per cent higher rate of hospital admission for RSV from September.
Considering around 30,000 kids are hospitalised due to RSV in a normal year, according to the Oxford Vaccine Group, it means there could be hundreds of thousands more beds taken up.
The impact is expected to continue into the winter, when viruses circulate at higher rates.
Dr Yvonne Doyle, Medical Director at Public Health England, said: “This winter, we expect levels of common seasonal illnesses such as cold and flu to increase as people mix more and given that fewer people will have built up natural immunity during the pandemic.
“It’s important that we carry on with good hygiene habits that we’ve become used to during the pandemic, in order to protect ourselves and those around us.
“This means washing your hands regularly, using a tissue to catch coughs or sneezes and washing your hands afterwards, and staying away from others if you feel unwell.”
The Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS) said last week there could be a “triple whammy” of Covid, flu and RSV in the cold months.
“There is a risk that children’s wards and paediatric intensive care units (PICU) may be overwhelmed”, AMS warned.
There could be between a 25 and 65 per cent increase in RSV cases across age groups.
The severity in kids depends on immunity in mums, the AMS said.
Prof Ghani said in a normal year “adults would be continually exposed and this would boost their natural immunity”.
“There may be some loss of immunity across the population,” she said.
“This could include new mothers who would normally pass on immunity to their new-borns and this reduction in maternal antibodies could also make young children more susceptible.
“These factors combined mean that the virus can start to spread much more rapidly (there are more people to infect) and so we expect to see much higher rates.
“The recent increases reported by PHE suggest this is indeed happening… increases have been reported in the southern hemisphere from Australia – and more recently in New Zealand.”