LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Pediatricians throughout the valley are noticing a daily uptick in RSV patients and with the holiday season here that isn't their only concern flu and COVID is also a threat.
Dr. Atousa Ghaneian is a Las Vegas pediatrician who says the number of patients walking through her door daily with a respiratory illness has gone through the roof.
"Over 50% of office visits right now for me are because of any respiratory symptoms," Ghaneian said.
She says her office is seeing an alarming influx of RSVpatients. She warns 70% of patients with RSV are hospitalized.
"Right now, it is the number one reason that infants are hospitalized much more than influenza or the flu," said Ghaneian.
Back in early November one of her young patients faced a scary situation leaving a child's mother terrified. What started off as a mild fever for Alessandra Marin's 5-year-old daughter, turned into a parent's worst nightmare.
"I saw that she started having trouble breathing and she was breathing really fast in her sleep and her fever wouldn't go down," said Marin.
Marin was left with no choice but to take her daughter to the emergency room. It wasn't COVID or the flu, it was respiratory syncytial virus, also known as RSV.
"It is exactly what is making her not able to breathe, not getting enough oxygen into her blood," Marin said.
Her daughter was hospitalized for almost a week.
"I cried, I was scared and there were a lot of little kids at the er, something is definitely going around,” Marin said.
Marin believes her daughter got RSV at school, she says the child told her about many classmates being sick. Dr. Ghaneian says this is what she is seeing with the majority of her cases, children going to school and catching the virus.
"It can escalate, and they can develop lower respiratory tract symptoms that can lead to pneumonia or bronchiolitis, and then they are getting hospitalized for additional supportive measures,” Dr. Ghaneian said,
She says this Thanksgiving stay home if you or your child are sick. For the adults, she says to try to avoid contact with younger children. While you may not have symptoms you could still have RSV and unknowingly pass it to a child.
She says if your child is eligible to get vaccinated for the Flu and or COVID, you should do so as soon as possible to prevent other respiratory illnesses.
