Grand River Hospital seeing increase in children with respiratory illness, including RSV

Grand River Hospital (GRH) says it’s seeing an increase in the number of young patients coming in with respiratory illness, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

In an email, a hospital spokesperson said staff were seeing a “high rate” of respiratory illness, including RSV in children visiting the emergency department and being admitted to the children’s program for care.

Cases of RSV are on the rise across Canada, particularly in children.

RSV is a very common virus that causes infections in an individual’s respiratory tract, according to the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases, an organization based in Winnipeg.

Physicians raised the alarm about cases increasing across the United States, and officials north of the border are seeing a spike in cases as well. The Public Health Agency of Canada said in its latest respiratory virus detection report that there has been a steady increase in positive RSV cases since early September.

The report, which provides data for the week ending on Oct. 15, states the number of cases is “above expected levels for this time of year” and that so far there have been 486 case detections and a 3.5 per cent positivity rate.

Last week, staff at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), an Ottawa-based pediatric hospital, said at a press conference Wednesday that RSV admissions for October are currently 10 times higher than the pre-pandemic historical average, which is just three cases.

In a tweet Thursday, GRH (GRH) asked for patience, but said they are prepared to provide everyone who needs it with high-quality care.

“If your child’s health issue is urgent, please do come to the hospital,” GRH said.

With files from CTV Toronto