New Jersey doctors are seeing a kind of perfect storm of respiratory viruses among children. It’s swamping health care systems with overlapping surges that started earlier, and hit harder, than usual, leaving pediatric ICUs struggling to find beds for young patients and nurses to care for them.
The current viral wave is driven by RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, said Dr. Uzma Hasan of RWJBarnabas Health (which underwrites NJ Spotlight News). “RSV — at least for northern Jersey — is about 50 to 75% of all admissions. We are seeing children who are co-infected with multiple viruses. We are seeing flu activity pick up,” she said.
