Illinois hospitals slammed with serious RSV intakes, and not just among young children
As hospitalizations due to respiratory syncytial virus, commonly known as RSV, skyrocket among U.S. seniors and children this season, Illinois health care professionals recommend precautions.
A 2015 study showed RSV leads to 150,000 hospitalizations and 10,000 to 15,000 deaths nationally each year, Dr. Vidhya Prakash, chief medical officer and infectious diseases faculty at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, told the News-Democrat.
“It’s a somewhat older study, but it proves the point about hospitalizations that it’s not a rarity. In 2015, the study showed that about 15% of 1.5 million adults who caught RSV were hospitalized. And those older than the age of 65 were much more likely to be hospitalized than adults between the age of 50 and 64 and younger,” Prakash said.
This season has been especially hard on children and seniors alike. The Illinois Department of Public Health warned of low pediatric intensive care unit availability this fall due to increased RSV hospitalizations in children, and those ages 65 and older are also seeing higher rates of severe illness.
“What’s a little alarming about the data is that this season alone, about 6 in every 100,000 seniors have been hospitalized with RSV,” Prakash said. “And to put it into context, that’s 10 times higher than in the pre-COVID years.”
ICU availability is at 14% in the metro-east area as of Dec. 6, IDPH reports. Thirteen ICU beds are currently available throughout IDPH’s Region 4, which includes St. Clair County and surrounding southwest Illinois localities.
“And as an infectious diseases physician, I’m starting to see adults in the ICU, especially older adults with weakened immune systems, in the ICUs more so than I have in years past. So we are definitely seeing a rise of older adults hospitalized due to RSV,” Prakash said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Respiratory Syncytial Virus Hospitalization Surveillance Network (RSV-NET) reports as of Dec. 8, the RSV hospitalization rate for the 2022-23 season is 25 hospitalizations per 100,000 people.
The CDC reports the hospitalization rate does not account for under-testing, differing practices among providers and sensitivity of diagnostic tests. RSV-NET only includes data from 58 counties in 12 states, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Tennessee.
Influenza hospitalization rates are also higher in Illinois this season than in previous seasons, according to data from the state health department. And statewide, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations were up the week of Dec. 4.
“And so, it really is a balancing act to make sure we have the capacity to take care of vulnerable patients admitted with all three illnesses, which is now being referred to as the tripledemic,” Prakash said.
To cope with the influx of child patients, some Illinois hospitals that typically only care for adults are converting beds for older children, Prakash said. Local health care providers are making these changes to save any available pediatric beds for smaller children.
Common RSV symptoms
Those who are infected with RSV commonly report flu- and cold-like symptoms, including the following:
Runny nose
Cough
Sneezing
Fever
Decreased appetite
Wheezing
People with weakened immune systems, including seniors and small children, can begin spreading RSV one or two days before symptoms appear and can sometimes be contagious for up to four weeks after their symptoms subside, Prakash said.
“If you are 65 years or older, you’re very vulnerable to severe disease related to RSV. But any adult with a chronic lung or heart illness or disease is vulnerable, as are any adults with a weakened immune system,” Prakash said.
While milder symptoms can often be managed at home, health care providers advise people who catch RSV, particularly those with compromised immune systems, to watch for warning signs of more serious illness. A worsening cough, especially when paired with shortness of breath or lightheadedness, means you should seek care at an urgent care or emergency room setting, Prakash said.
Mitigation strategies
Taking precautions such as staying home when possible, wearing a mask, washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and covering your cough and sneeze with a tissue can decrease transmission of respiratory viruses.
Vaccination is the “single most important factor” in mitigating risks of severe illness, Prakash said, and COVID-19 and flu shots are available in St. Clair County.
A vaccine against RSV has not yet been approved for public use in the U.S., but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will give priority review to a Pfizer vaccine designed to prevent RSV in adults age 60 and older. FDA officials said they aim to make a decision on the vaccine by May.
Pfizer officials have also announced “positive top-line data” from trials of an RSV vaccine for pregnant people to protect their infants from RSV after birth.
“I do remain hopeful that we will have solid vaccines in the near future,” Prakash said.
This story was originally published December 9, 2022 at 11:40 AM.
