Macomb County boy, 6, dies of RSV amid surge of infections
A 6-year-old Macomb County boy has died from respiratory syncytial virus, better known as RSV, Oakland County’s chief medical examiner said Wednesday, amid a surge of infections among Michigan children that has pediatric hospitals across the state at or near capacity.
The young boy was hospitalized at Corewell Health Beaumont Troy Hospital, and died at 3:41 a.m. Wednesday, the Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office told the Free Press.
“The child was diagnosed in the hospital and survived in the hospital for several hours, I believe, with severe respiratory distress,” said Dr. Ljubisa Dragovic, the medical examiner. “He had an RSV infection because it was documented and tested positive in the hospital.”
The boy is among hundreds of Michigan children who have needed hospital care amid a wave of cases of RSV, which causes the most serious illness in infants and young children, people with compromised immune systems and elderly people.
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Who is at risk for RSV?
It’s a very common respiratory virus that in most people causes mild, cold-like symptoms “typical of other respiratory diseases — runny nose, coughing, sneezing, fevers, all of those things,” Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, the state’s chief medical executive, told the Free Press in a previous interview. “Most people who have RSV infections, they get better on their own at home.”
A subset of the population — especially babies, toddlers, senior citizens and people with compromised immune systems — can have a harder time fighting the virus and can get very ill. When they get the virus, it can cause wheezing and respiratory distress.
RSV is not an illness that must be reported to public health agencies, so the statewide tally of cases and deaths is unknown. However, Lynn Sutfin, a spokesperson for the state Department of Health and Human Services told the Free Press: “Over the past three weeks there has been a sustained increase in pediatric emergency room visits, largely due to respiratory illness.
“We are urging all Michigan families to take steps to prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses. This includes staying home if you are unwell and avoiding contact with individuals at risk of severe RSV illness; washing your hands often; getting vaccinated for influenza and COVID-19; having a supply of COVID-19 tests and masks at home; and finding out if you are eligible for treatment options if you do become unwell.”
The Oakland County Health Division issued a statement Wednesday urging people with cold-like symptoms to avoid interaction with small children to limit the spread of RSV.
Michigan hospitals packed with sick children
The swell of sick kids with RSV is putting a crunch on hospital emergency departments and pediatric intensive care units across the state.
At Corewell Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, all of the intensive care unit beds were full Wednesday. The hospital had to add about five additional ICU beds to a dedicated overflow unit, said Dr. Hossain Marandi, hospital president, to continue to care for the sickest children.
“We are also evaluating every admission to assure that when a critically ill child needs care, we can say yes,” Marandi said.
The University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor is “extremely full,” said spokesperson Beata Mostafavi. Decisions are being made “on a case-by-case basis because of the capacity issues.”
Bagdasarian said infections of RSV and other respiratory viruses among kids in the state “have escalated in the last week” even above already high thresholds.
“What we are seeing with the trends right now is that not only are RSV surveillance numbers in terms of positive tests are going up, but the number of patients who are presenting to urgent cares, in emergency departments with RSV are also going up. And this is primarily in the under-4 age group,” she said Wednesday.
“We are really hearing from all of our pediatric hospitals that they are struggling right now. They are struggling with ICU beds. They are struggling in terms of pediatric staffing. Many of them are not accepting transfers, which is a problem. … Many of them have emergency department borders or lodgers (who are) … children who can’t be moved up to a more permanent bed because there are simply so many cases.”
Calls are streaming in from other Michigan hospitals and from out of state asking whether the University of Michigan Health at Sparrow Children’s Center in Lansing has room to accept more sick children as transfers, said spokesperson Corey Alexander.
“We will continue to monitor our capacity limits and will take appropriate action,” he said.
And at the eight southeastern Michigan hospitals that are part of Corewell Health East, the new name for Beaumont Health, the availability of hospital beds for children fluctuates between being “at” or…
Read More: Macomb County boy, 6, dies of RSV amid surge of infections