Click Here to Play Audio

Cases of RSV are surging across the United States – and Virginia’s no exception.

The Virginia Department of Health said recently that emergency and urgent care visits with diagnoses of respiratory syncytial virus have quadrupled.

The virus affects anyone but can become more severe in young children and older people.

WHRO spoke with Dr. Douglas Mitchell, a pediatrician and medical director of CHKD Medical Group, about what he’s seeing in Hampton Roads.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

WHRO: Hi Dr. Mitchell, thanks for taking the time to talk with us.

Douglas Mitchell: Yes, glad to be with you, thanks for inviting me.

WHRO: So first of all, let’s talk about what RSV is and why it’s such a concern. How does the virus affect people who catch it?

DM: RSV is the abbreviation for respiratory syncytial virus. It is a common virus that circulates every winter, primarily in the November to March timeframe, usually. In older kids or in adults, it is usually just a significant head cold. The significance is that we've known for many, many years within the younger children, primarily younger than 2, and premature infants or in the elderly, they can get much more significant disease from it. So those are the high risk folks that have more high risk of hospitalization (and) needing respiratory support when they're hospitalized.

WHRO: We’re hearing that across the country there are particularly high rates of RSV right now. What’s happening at CHKD in Hampton Roads?

DM: Well, we are seeing more rates everywhere. And that is because we've had basically none of this circulate in the last two years because of the various protective measures that were in place during COVID by wearing masks and distancing (that) prevented the spread. And so we basically had those higher risk children that have never seen it before. And so it is spreading more rapidly now. It's not really causing any more severe illness than we're used to in previous years. There's just a lot more of it because there is no underlying immunity. We are seeing the same thing at CHKD, a fair number of children being hospitalized and some requiring oxygen and support until they can recover from this virus.

WHRO: Officials are also talking about a potential “tri-demic” this winter, with high rates of RSV, COVID and the flu all at the same time. Do you think that will happen here and how can people prevent it? 

DM: It already is happening here. And it's those three viruses, but those aren't the only ones we're seeing right now. We've got multiple viruses that are typical winter viruses that are back again. The herd immunity to those viruses has decreased, and so they're circulating rapidly. Our biggest challenge right now is the influenza and RSV.  

WHRO: How does the spread of RSV impact the community at large, like schools for instance? 

DM: Prior to COVID, we sort of took the approach of, I’m a little bit sick but we're still going to go to school. COVID, I think, taught me and hopefully taught all of us that we really can't be going to work sick. We really can't be going to school sick because that's how there's going to be more spread, particularly this year that we have done away with … many of those factors that helped prevent the spread over the last two years.

WHRO: What else should parents and others know about RSV? 

DM: So we do still encourage and would highly recommend flu vaccines. There is no vaccine for RSV available. … Knowing what virus (your child has) is not necessarily important, ‘cause all viruses eventually resolve on their own. The care for most of them is supportive. So what we’re looking for is the kids that have the more severe illness. If there's a child that has fever and is smiling and happy and playful and drinking fluids -— they may not be eating as well, but they're still drinking fluids — then that’s a child that’s fine to be cared for at home. No intervention is needed. They don't need to be seen just to test, to figure out what it is. The kids that we need to have seen are the kids that are struggling. There is this gut that something's just not right. Urgent care and the emergency rooms are very busy. There's very long wait times. And so the more that we can encourage the sick children to be there and the children that are just not so sick can be cared for at home … we can decrease those wait times. 

WHRO: Thanks so much, again, for chatting with us.

DM: Oh, you’re very welcome.