Respiratory virus hits more kids

Teresa Hinds

Wednesday, Dec. 31, 1997 | 11:09 a.m.

Fifty-four new cases of a children's upper respiratory virus have been reported in Clark County since Friday, but health officials say this is a normal course of outbreak and not a public health threat.

Dr. Donald Kwalick, assistant health officer for the Clark County Health Department, wasn't surprised by the increase in cases recorded, which he attributed to an interruption in reporting because of the Christmas holiday and the normal infection cycle of the Respiratory Syncytial Virus, or RSV.

"It's just an upper respiratory infection and is starting on its usual rapid (infection) cycle in November and December," Kwalick said. "It should peak shortly and start on a downswing, I should think."

Last December only 40 cases of RSV were reported compared to 175 so far this month. Health officials say the four-fold increase in cases is due to the cyclical nature of the virus' infection rate, which tends to be more severe every couple of years, according to Dr. Otto Ravenholt, Clark County's chief health officer.

Kwalick predicted another increase in cases will be reported to the health district after the current warmer temperatures drop.

He called the virus, which usually lasts from five to seven days, a normal childhood illness and is "the bane of modern man as far as upper respiratory infections are concerned."

RSV is most common in children under three years of age because it is the first upper respiratory infection infants come in contact with. Of the 54 new cases, 38 were diagnosed in children younger than one and 16 in children one to five years old, Kwalick said.

He added there is no definitive treatment for the virus, other than to give the child extra fluids to avoid dehydration. Prevention includes keeping children away from large crowds so they do not get exposed to the virus, and for parents to wash their hands before each time they touch their infants.

Because of the divert status that area emergency rooms are on and the resulting longer-than-normal wait for care, Kwalick advised parents to take sick children to a quick care facility or a pediatrician's office instead of a hospital emergency room "unless it is truly is an emergency."

An example of an emergency situation would be if the child develops a stiff neck, has a fever of 104 degrees or greater, has severe breathing trouble, wheezing or a croupy cough.