(This is the fourth in a five-part series on respiratory illnesses of concern in Sheboygan County, their effects, incidence, and how to manage them)
Respiratory illnesses like the common cold and flu are no strangers to the human experience and neither is RSV – but you might not know that. Respiratory Syncytial Virus, easier to say as RSV, is a virus that spreads like any other respiratory illness – through the air after being expelled and then breathed in, or transferred by hand after settling on a surface. According to the CDC, the symptoms of RSV are so similar that it’s hard to tell apart from the cold or flu.
“It’s an entirely different virus than those other two…I mean, they have very similar symptoms: fever, headache, cough, body aches, runny nose, sore throat…so it’s pretty hard to tell on your own what it might be.” That’s according to Corianne Dorgay, a health educator and communications coordinator with the Sheboygan County Division of Public Health, who told us that they’re definitely seeing RSV showing up here. “Based on those emergency department visits there’s currently moderate RSV activity, and that’s increasing from the previous weeks.”
While most people will ride out their infection without trouble, infants under 6 months of age and older adults can get very sick and may need hospitalization in order to get additional oxygen, I-V fluids if they become dehydrated, and may require intubation and mechanical ventilation in more severe cases. And while most hospital stays usually last only a few days, for others, bronchiolitis and pneumonia find a pathway to infection through RSV, which is the leading cause of those afflictions in children younger than 1 year of age. According to Dorgay, vaccination is again the most effective way to protect those vulnerable groups, even those under six months of age who can’t yet receive the vaccine themselves. “We recommend that adults 60 years or older, and also pregnant people, get one dose of the RSV vaccine, because getting that vaccine while you’re pregnant can help protect your infant from getting sick with RSV after they are born. Because we can’t vaccinate people below a certain age, getting that protection in them right away is what we want to do.”
Dorgay added that there is a monoclonal antibody medication that can be given to those too young to receive a vaccine that should help prevent the most serious symptoms of RSV should an infection occur.
While RSV isn’t any more virulent than the cold, flu or COVID, the same precautions are recommended in order to control its spread: stay home if you’re sick, wash your hands, and cover your coughs and sneezes in your elbow – not in your hands.
We’ll complete our look at respiratory illnesses, their presence in Sheboygan County and what you can do about them in our final installment on Friday.
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