Texas, a Lone Star State, is noticing an increase in the number of children being hospitalized, and this is bringing up major concerns. This is not just because of COVID-19, but also an unseasonably and untimely outbreak of Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). RSV is a pathogen that brings about bronchiolitis and pneumonia in infants.
Fall, winter, and spring is the period of the year RSV season usually happens in the US. RSV can be transmitted through sneezes, coughs, and coming in contact with surfaces that have the virus on them. Symptoms of RSV include coughing, runny nose, sneezing, fever, and wheezing, with symptoms usually manifesting in stages instead of appearing at once.
The spread of Coronavirus, along with the rise of Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), is a very deadly combination.
A hospital in Texas has diagnosed 25 children with the two viruses at the same time, and those infected with the two viruses - both COVID-19 and RSV - were reported to have a much higher rate of hospitalization than just one of the virus alone.
Currently, the known data is not enough to estimate how getting infected with both COVID-19 and RSV might affect the seriousness of the disease - and also death. Thousands of children could possibly be at risk.
Between the 1st of July and the 9th of August, 783 children were sent to Texas hospitals with coronavirus, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported.
While the former variants were not that aggressive in children, the Delta variant has prompted a notable increase in COVID-19 cases in children. Almost 94,000 children across the United States got infected by COVID-19 in the week starting August 2.
President of the Texas Pediatric Society whose name is Dr. Seth D. Kaplan told the Texas Tribune: "We're seeing a significantly greater number of children who are being hospitalized with COVID-19. Some are requiring ICU care, more than we've seen with previous surges, and that's related to the increased transmissibility of delta."
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Major Concerns
Dr. Seth also said this variant is more aggressive and It's making more children sick, and these children need to be hospitalized. This, together with the RSV, is what's actually causing the capacity issues.
In the last few months, Texas has experienced a substantial increase in COVID-19 cases and also hospitalizations and deaths. Several other states have also seen the same surges. This type of situation in the state might soon be repeated in all regions across the country. Just as usual, the problem is that hospital beds, ICU beds especially, will be occupied as medical facilities become overburdened.
Dr. Jim Versalovic, pathologist-in-chief and temporary pediatrician-in-chief at Texas Children's Hospital located in Houston said: "It is spreading like wildfire. During the past several weeks, Texas Children's has been escalating strategies in terms of dealing with this dual surge."
