PHOENIX — Valley hospitals are taking action just a week before the start of the holiday season as RSV cases continue to skyrocket.
Here in Arizona, Banner Health said cases are up more than 300% compared to a typical season.
Monday, Banner also announced visitor restrictions which include anyone over the age of two having to wear a mask when they go inside.
That list also includes:
· Restricting visitors if they have a fever, cough, vomiting or diarrhea.
· Restricting visitors under the age of 13. Siblings, who do not have cold and flu symptoms, may visit a new baby on the Obstetrics unit or Pediatric unit. That child may be screened for illness by staff before being allowed to visit.
· Children, including siblings will not be allowed to visit the NICU
· Children 12 and under must be supervised by an adult at all times in public waiting areas and cafeterias.
· Visitors are highly encouraged to wash or sanitize hands frequently while at the hospital to prevent getting the flu or potentially spreading any illness.
But both Banner and Phoenix Children's hospital said it still has capacity for ill children.
The Crandell family from Apache Junction just spent eight days in the hospital with their five-year-old Clementine.
"It was so sad, I was scared," said Linda Crandell.
Within just days, RSV quickly sent the family to Banner Desert.
"Things kind of just took a turn she ended up needing to be on a high flow of oxygen and then they had to sedate her," said Linda.
Clem, as her family calls her, already has multiple disorders including cerebral palsy and epilepsy.
Linda said while in the hospital they feared the worst, "They were just saying her lungs were full of fluid, and we just didn’t know if her body would be able to fight it."
About a week later, Clem is home recovering, but now Linda is sick and worried about their four-month-old.
It's something many parents in the Valley and across the country are experiencing.
"In all of our 75-plus offices, we are really seeing a confluence of all of the respiratory viruses coming together and making a lot of children sick," said Dr. Christina Johns, an emergency physician with PM Pediatric Care.
In Maricopa County, the numbers are staggering. In the first week of November, the county saw almost 600 cases which was close to the total number of cases at this point in 2021.
She said the reason for the jump in respiratory illness, especially RSV, is probably caused by multiple variables.
"Remember that RSV can circulate any times of the year, but there are certain times when all of the variables line up just right to have tremendous amount of transmission," said Dr. Johns. "So I think this time around all of the variables, plus lots of young children for whom this is their first exposure. That’s why we are seeing so much of it right now."
With the Thanksgiving holiday approaching, Dr. Johns recommends parents with newborns take extra precautions.
But also, encouraged families to use some of the tools that were recommended during the pandemic.
"The things that we learned in the last few years apply," said Dr. Johns. "Wearing a mask, staying home if you are sick, making sure that you are practicing good hand hygiene."
Vaccine makers are developing an RSV vaccine.
"We're seeing really significant progress with the RSV vaccine," said Carlos Blanco, the CEO of the Lynn Health Science Institute.
The institute has been helping with numerous RSV vaccine trials, but right their trials are focusing on older adults, an age group that he said is also at risk for having a severe case of RSV.
Blanco told ABC15 that data from vaccine makers like Pfizer gives him high hopes.
"With the RSV we are lucky we dealing with much fewer strains," said Blanco. "So we believe we are going to more successful, the pharmas are going to be more successful for developing vaccines for RSV."
But he said a shot for kids likely won’t come this season.
"It's hard to offer a guess, but I would say definitely within 12 to 16 months we should have a vaccine available," said Blanco.
