BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Erie County Health Department and John R. Oishei Children's Hospital are holding a joint press conference to discuss the high volume of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) cases in Western New York.
According to Dr. Stephen Turkovich, Chief Medical Officer, Oishei Children’s Hospital, the number of cases has increased since 2 On Your Side spoke with him last month.
He said in a press conference that the hospital was sometimes at capacity or over capacity while trying to treat all of the cases. He also said the increasing number of patients has put a strain on staff and resources.
Last month, Children's Hospital said it was seeing a high number of RSV cases.
Most of the RSV cases they have seen are children under the age of two, according to Dr. Turkovich, although there have been a few older children as well.
For most children, the virus causes nothing more than a cold. But for a small percentage of children, RSV can lead to pneumonia or bronchiolitis.
According to the CDC, symptoms of RSV include:
- Runny nose
- Decrease in appetite
- Coughing
- Sneezing
- Fever
- Wheezing
If your child has any of these symptoms, you should contact your pediatrician, or in severe cases, go to the emergency room.
To prevent the spread of RSV, keep children away from sick people, wash hands often with soap and water, avoid touching children's faces with unwashed hands and avoid kissing babies when you're sick.
