Respiratory syncytial virus activity is starting to tick up across the country, marking the start of virus season, according to data tracked by epidemiologists and public health experts.
Routine CDC tracking on respiratory virus trends is on pause amid the federal government shutdown, now approaching its fifth week. However, data from the PopHIVE project at Yale School of Public Health in New Haven, Conn., shows that ED visits for RSV among children under 4 are on the rise.
RSV was responsible for about 1.2% of ED visits among infants under the age of 1 for the week ending Oct. 11, up from 0.4% in early September, according to the data. The dashboard is run by a group of researchers, clinicians and data scientists, including Megan Ranney, MD, dean of the Yale School of Public Health.
Among children ages 1 to 4, the virus accounted for about 0.5% of ED visits for the week ending Oct. 11, up slightly from 0.2% about a month earlier. Meanwhile, flu and COVID-19 transmission remain low.
“This follows a similar pattern: the virus first hits the youngest children (particularly those under one year) before spreading to adults, often about a month later,” Katelyn Jetelina, PhD, an epidemiologist who follows respiratory virus trends in a weekly blog often cited by medical and public health experts.
While respiratory virus season always strains hospital capacity, this year brings added pressures, including more limited vaccine uptake amid shifting federal guidance and the suspension of hospital-at-home programs during the government shutdown.
