EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — El Paso Children's Hospital reported a jump in the number of positive cases of RSV, Influenza, and Coronavirus.
EPCH alone has reported
- 588 cases of RSV
- 433 cases of influenza
- 696 cases of coronavirus
The Chief Medical Officer of El Paso Children's Hospital, Dr. Jeffrey Schuster, shared that as temperatures get low people tend to stay indoors increasing the number of viruses spreading between children.
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There are vaccines for both COVID and the flu but for the first time, Dr. Schuster shared there is a medication for RSV.
The injection is not a vaccine for RSV but it can help prevent RSV.
For premature babies, Dr. Schuster says that El Paso Children's Hospital has been using Synagis.
Doctors have also been using the new medicine Beyfortus to prevent the spread of RSV.
There are also new vaccines for pregnant women to protect their baby 6 months after birth as well as a new vaccine for RSV in adults over the age of 60.
All of these new medicines were approved this year in the United States.
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Dr. Schuster also warned parents to look out for the warning signs in their children for difficulty breathing which is a sign of RSV.
Signs of difficulty breathing include, "When a child is having trouble breathing, they usually are a little bit hyper anxious, you know, they get wide-eyed and they're really concentrating on breathing. They can also suck in here. They can suck in between the ribs. Those are called retractions and that's probably an indication to be evaluated", warned Dr. Schuster.
If a child is showing signs of difficulty breathing it is encouraged to bring them to the hospital to get evaluated and to keep them home to prevent the spread.
El Paso Children's Hospital is located at 4845 Alameda Avenue, El Paso, Texas, 79905.
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