Metro Detroit hospitals see decrease in pediatric RSV cases after spike
Pediatric RSV cases declining in Metro Detroit hospitals
Dr. Whitney Minnock, the pediatric chief of Emergency at Corewell Health in Royal Oak, said pediatric cases of RSV are declining. Doctors say they are watching a small but strong increase in adult RSV cases, but they don’t believe we will see a tridemic of RSV, flu, and Covid.
ROYAL OAK, Mich. (FOX 2) - Doctors at Corewell Health, formerly Beaumont, say pediatric cases of respiratory syncytial virus infection (RSV) are decreasing.
"We are nothing like we were two weeks ago. That was a really tough time I think for all of us in the pediatric community," said Dr. Whitney Minnock, the pediatric chief of Emergency at Corewell Health in Royal Oak.
It's an illness Melissa Parker experienced firsthand when her son Owen got sick at just three weeks old.
More: RSV, influenza, or Covid - how to tell the difference
"His lips would turn blue, so it happened a couple of times, and I knew at that point we needed to take him to the emergency room," she said. "The cough started getting better after day 10 and then fully gone at like 14 days."
Since the week of Oc.t 31 through Nov. 6., which is when the number of pediatric patients treated at Corewell Health East reached nearly 600 pediatric RSV cases, numbers have been declining. Doctors say it’s unclear what’s causing that drop
"I don’t think that anyone could really answer that. It could just be the progression of the disease," Minnock said. "I don’t know if they will be another peak. I think it's a little too early to predict."
Doctors say they are watching a small but strong increase in adult RSV cases, but they don’t believe we will see a tridemic of RSV, flu, and Covid.
"I think if RSV continues to decline hopefully we won’t be faced with a tridemic," Minnock said. "If you’re feeling well, I don’t think that there’s any reason not to be around your family and friends this holiday season."