Cases of RSV, a respiratory illness, have been up nationwide, leading to crowding at some pediatric hospitals. Berrien County Health Department Medical Director Rex Cabaltica tells us RSV primarily affects small children and the elderly, and part of the reason RSV is so bad this year is kids weren’t exposed to the bug during the years they were locked down in the pandemic.
“It takes several infections of this to build up immunity so kids will not get the lower respiratory tract illnesses,” Cabaltica said. “So, with the pandemic, we’re coming out of nearly three years. Well, with those three years, that means that the kids who did not go to school, the kids who were masking in school when they were, just have not been as exposed as much to this.”
Cabaltica says the illness is more of a concern due to COVID still being around, and also because of this being flu season. He notes Berrien County cases of RSV have been increasing since August, with October seeing a big jump at more than 80 diagnosed. Cabaltica encourages flu vaccinations as much as possible this year, saying it’s not yet known how severe the flu season will be.
