RSV cases on the rise and overwhelming pediatric hospitals, including the Central Coast

SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV)- RSV cases are rising, and numbers are increasing, leaving parents worried.

A concerned mother at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital said as much after taking her baby boy to get treated.

“We’re just hanging in there, trying to keep high spirits," said Talia Darby, holding her son close. “Last night was the worst of it, between coughing, he’s going through the worst of it I think we’re on day three.”

Darby arrived in Salinas on Wednesday to visit family. She was not expecting to end up at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital with her 9-month-old son.

“On Wednesday, he started coughing a lot," said Darby. "He didn’t have many breaks in between the coughing. He felt a little warm, but it wasn’t until later when I was feeding him, that I noticed his breathing was labored.”

Darby’s son Matthew was diagnosed with Respiratory Syncytial Virus or RSV. Hospitals all over the country are seeing more and more cases. The main reason? Is the lack of masking for kids.

“For a long time, our kids were masked, they were not exposed to all the viruses they are now being exposed to,” said Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital ER Dr. Erica Locke.

In October, Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital saw 560 pediatric respiratory patients. Not all of those were RSV. 50 of those had to be admitted. That is near twice as many as this time last year.

“Some kids get better quickly, then they go home, we are seeing some kids that come into the hospital some of them get worse, and we need to transfer them,” said Dr. Locke.

According to data from the Disease Control and Prevention Centers, weekly RSV cases nationwide have risen from 5,872 the week ending Oct. 1 to 8,597 Nov. 5.

So, when should you be worried about your child's symptoms?

“Breathing very fast, using their muscles to breathe, that means when you see them pulling in their neck," said Dr. Locke. "Their belly rising and falling. If that is happening, then you want to bring them right in.”

So when could start seeing kids' immune systems start to catch up?

“That's a wonderful question, and sadly we don’t know," said Dr. Locke. "We don’t have enough research. We have not seen kids have been isolated.”