Respiratory Infections Are Rising Among Children

By Jay Croft

Oct. 11, 2022 -- America’s kids are experiencing an increase in respiratory illness, and it’s not just because of coronavirus, experts say.

Respiratory infections typically go up during the winter months. But this year’s increase has started earlier and stronger than normal.

“Sick kids are crowding emergency rooms in various parts of the country, and some pediatric hospitals say they are running out of beds,” National Public Radio reported.

"Rates are as high as 25% of those [who have] tested positive for RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus). That is quite unusual for October, we would typically start to see higher rates in November, December and January," Ibukun Kalu, MD, a specialist in pediatric infectious diseases at Duke Children's Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, told NPR.

She said more adults could become affected in the coming colder months.

"The reason for more severe illnesses with some of these viruses is the smaller airways in kids,” she said. “Because the viruses get in there and cause such a high amount of inflammation, they are unable to clear out a lot of these secretions or get air in."

In September, the CDC said it had been alerted by health care providers "about increases in pediatric hospitalizations in patients with severe respiratory illness who also tested positive for rhinovirus (RV) and/or enterovirus (EV)."

The CDC advised hospitals to keep awareness up about severe infections among pediatric patients; patients were urged to keep an eye out for symptoms such as difficulty breathing and sudden onset of limb weakness.

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