CRMC Seeing Admissions Of RSV Cases

Cookeville Regional Medical Center seeing an increase in respiratory syncytial virus cases, or RSV.

Infection Prevention Manager Stephanie Etter said the virus typically cycles every fall and winter. She said it affects small children and infants the most, and often causes hospitalization.

“Children have more viruses as far as respiratory viruses in general in their body,” Etter said. “It can be really hard on them because it affects eating and drinking, they usually become dehydrated. It can cause wheezing, coughing.”

Etter said wheezing and dehydration are the biggest markers of RSV compared to something like the flu or the common cold. She said in young children, it can be contagious for three to eight days. She said infants can spread the virus for up to four weeks.

Etter said there is no vaccine for RSV. She said the best thing to do is follow your typical prevention methods, including hand washing and cleaning surfaces often. Etter said to try and avoid kissing babies because what seems like a common cold to us, could be RSV and pass it on to the baby.

“We’ve probably suppressed RSV a little bit in the past few years,” Etter said. “Just like we have with flu and COVID due to increased masking. So I think it’s coming back in higher number probably because of that this year.”