By Child respiratory illness on the rise Health Chiefs warn
Respiratory infections in young children have begun to rise out of season Health Chiefs have warned.
It follows low infection levels in response to COVID-19 restrictions and good infection control measures that have been in place.
Parents are being encouraged to look out for symptoms of severe infection in at-risk children, including: a high temperature of 37.8°C or above (fever), a dry and persistent cough, difficulty feeding, rapid or noisy breathing (wheezing).
Through the Respiratory DataMart surveillance system, positivity of samples tested for RSV has increased over the last 5 consecutive weeks and now stands at 8.9%.
While still at low numbers, respiratory infections in young children are expected to rise this summer and into the winter months.
Health Minister Lord Bethell 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.”
“I urge all parents and carers to be alert to the signs of RSV, particularly amongst young children. It’s a nasty bug, so watch out for it.”
RSV is a very common virus and almost all children are infected with it by the time they are 2 years old. In older children and adults, RSV may cause a cough or cold.
However, some children under 2, especially those born prematurely or with a heart condition, can suffer more serious consequences from these common infections such as bronchiolitis.
Due to the various restrictions in place to reduce the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), there were far fewer infections in younger people last winter.
Many will not have developed immunity due to these restrictions and so there may be more cases this year than in a typical season.
For the majority of children, these illnesses will not be serious and they will soon recover following rest and plenty of fluids
