Hospital officials say the rise in RSV cases among Maine children is growing. At a joint press conference Friday, MaineHealth and Northern Light Health officials said pediatric beds at the state’s two largest hospitals are at or near capacity.
Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center has 87 pediatric beds. At Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, there are 37. Almost all of those 124 beds were filled as of Friday, many with children who have respiratory viruses, including RSV.
EMMC’s Dr. Jonathan Wood says it’s rising much earlier than usual.
“That’s actually when we start seeing RSV, and we’re already seeing it like it’s mid-January of a typical year,” he says.
Most people experience RSV like a cold. But young children, especially those younger than 6 months, are at risk of severe symptoms that make breathing difficult. Some even have to be put on ventilators.
Both the severity and spread of RSV have some pediatricians comparing the situation to the start of the COVID pandemic.
“The difference between now and January 2020 is that our health care system is very strained,” says Dr. Mary Ottolini, Barbara Bush’s chair of pediatrics.
Ottolini says the strain is due to a larger number of patients and fewer staff. Many left during the height of the pandemic due to burnout.
To preserve capacity, hospital officials are asking families to take precautions to prevent their children from becoming seriously ill by wearing masks and keeping babies out of crowded indoor spaces. And if a child gets sick, call their pediatrician first before going to the emergency room.
“Please strongly consider getting a flu shot for your child because we are about to enter flu season in addition to this first RSV season,” says Wood. “And that combination when those two overlap, which they do every year, but this year, it could be pretty extraordinary.”