Two Douglas pediatricians are seeing a higher-than-usual number of babies and toddlers suffering from upper respiratory viruses.

In addition, pediatricians in Tucson and Phoenix are reporting a high number of RSV, or respiratory syncytical virus, which typically spikes this time of year.

While the two pediatricians in Douglas are not testing babies for RSV specifically, they are seeing cases of bronchiolitis. RSV is one of several viruses that causes bronchiolitis and both are treated the same way.

 “Infants who come to us with symptoms of bronchiolitis sometimes have difficulty breathing and eating,” explained Dr. Jonathan Lee-Melk, a pediatrician with Chiricahua Community Health Centers whose office is in Douglas.  “Since doctors don’t know whether infants really have RSV unless they’re tested for it, there’s no way to track how many of these children that we see actually have the virus.”

Much like a common cold, RSV typically resolves and children do fine once it has run its course. But in cases where children are struggling to breathe, they may need to be hospitalized, which results in testing for the virus.

“While it doesn’t change how we treat the child, RSV is so contagious, the hospital will segregate a child with RSV,” Lee-Melk said. The pediatrician says that he’s seeing “many more cases” of bronchiolitis in infants this year. And some of those children have required hospitalization.

“I agree with Jonathan,” says Dr. Iqbal Rashid, a pediatrician for Copper Queen Medical Associates, also in Douglas. “We’re seeing a higher number of respiratory cases in babies this year. Higher, but not significantly higher. Most of these babies do just fine, but if we see the baby is breathing fast and struggling to breathe, then he will need to be admitted to an emergency room for further treatment.”

Rashid, who has a relationship with University Medical Center in Tucson, says that children he sees who need hospitalization are referred to UMC for treatment.

While both pediatricians agree that most of the youngsters do not require hospitalization, Lee-Melk has had to hospitalize more children than usual this year because of cold-like symptoms.

“Some of the children are going as far as Phoenix because of a lack of beds in Tucson,” he said.

Sierra Vista Regional Health Center is seeing RSV cases, but the incidence is not abnormally high for this time of year, says Ann Kuhl, the hospital’s infection control coordinator.

The illness

Respiratory syncytical virus is a disease of the lungs that causes symptoms similar to a cold, such as cough, runny nose or a slight fever. RSV can, however, cause sever infections in infants and other young children that lead to lethargy, loss of appetite or even respiratory failure. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 75,000 to 125,000 children are hospitalized with severe RSV infections every year. Fatalities are rare.