Respiratory Illness Impacting Hundreds of Houston Area Children

Jan. 09--A highly contagious respiratory virus has landed hundreds of children in Houston-area hospitals this season, with the number of diagnosed patients even outpacing those with the flu, officials said.

Like the flu, respiratory syncytial virus, better known as RSV, is an illness that infects the lungs and breathing passages and generally strikes during the winter months. The illness causes influenza-like symptoms that may resolve within weeks without treatment. But for infants, especially those premature babies or with weakened immune systems, the virus can be severe and potentially life-threatening.

"It's been a very robust season (for RSV) this year," said Dr. Gail Demmler-Harrison, an attending physician in the pediatric infectious disease section at Texas Children's Hospital.

Texas Children's officials reported more than 600 patients tested positive for RSV in December, about a 45 percent increase from the same time in 2012. At Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital, more than 140 pediatric patients have been admitted since October due to RSV, officials said. The hospital could not provide numbers for 2012.

"We've definitely had a heavy RSV season, with a lot of RSV admissions," said Dr. Galit Holzmann-Pazgal, medical director of infection control for Children's Memorial Hermann. "And I would say some of them have been quite severe."

Texas Children's officials said they do not track RSV deaths, but have not heard of any reports at the hospital thus far. Officials at Memorial Hermann have no deaths related to RSV this season.

The number of flu patients seen at both hospitals was significantly lower. In December, Texas Children's reported a little more than 400 patients diagnosed with influenza. Children's Memorial Hermann officials said since October only about 40 patients have been admitted due to the flu.

While it is difficult to pinpoint exactly why RSV affects more patients than influenza, it may be due in part to the fact that there is no vaccine to prevent the virus, Demmler-Harrison said.

However another reason could be timing.

"Right now we are in the heart of RSV season," Demmler-Harrison said, noting that virus generally spreads starting in October, and peaks in December and January. "But come February and March, RSV will kind of burn out and flu will be the predominant one."

RSV is spread through close contact with others who are infected or on objects, such as toys, as well as through the air from coughing or sneezing. Physicians say it is also difficult to explain why one RSV season may be more severe than another, and may involve factors such as the weather.

Because the symptoms are similar, both causing coughing, sneezing and fever, parents often may mistake RSV for the flu. Physicians say the most definitive way to make a diagnosis is through a laboratory test.

Overshadowed by flu

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 75,000 to 125,000 children under 1 year old are hospitalized each year because of an RSV infection. For that age group, it is the most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in the United States. Most children have been infected with the virus by age 2, according to the agency.

Adults and teenagers are also susceptible to contracting RSV.

However, physicians say those prone to the most severe consequences of the illness are premature infants and children under 2 suffering from congenital heart or chronic lung disease, or those patients with weakened immune systems.

Demmler-Harrison said she believes it's just as important for parents to be cognizant of RSV as they may be of the flu.

"Children also end up in the hospital due to RSV," she said. "I think one of the reasons is that it gets second place to influenza is because we do have an active immunization for influenza."

Angie Light, a Houston mother of three, said she had not really taken the RSV seriously, until last month, when her newborn daughter, Georgina, ended up hospitalized at Texas Children's after she contracted the virus. Only a couple weeks after being born, Georgina was, having trouble breathing already fighting for her life.

Light said she strongly suspects that one of her two toddler daughters was infected with RSV and the baby caught the virus from one of them. While she'd had the entire family vaccinated for influenza, she'd hadn't given much thought to RSV.

"You just really don't realize how contagious it is," she said, adding she didn't know it could strike newborns.

While there is no vaccine for the RSV, an injection of antibodies has been developed to help prevent a severe illness from RSV. However, it is only administered to infants and children who are at high risk for contracting the virus, Holzmann-Pazgal said.

There is also no specific treatment for RSV. It involves supportive care, such as keeping the patient hydrated and reducing a possible fever.

Good hygiene critical

Physicians say the best way to prevent RSV is to practice good hygiene, such as washing hands and avoiding sharing eating and drinking utensils. If possible, parents should also limit the exposure children have to others with fever and colds.

"Thousands of infants every year suffer from RSV. Many are put in the hospital and are critically ill and some even die," Demmler-Harrison said. "A vaccine to prevent that would definitely be a major medical breakthrough, but so far we are still waiting for that."

Copyright 2014 - Houston Chronicle