There are dark and foreboding storm clouds gathering. The weather they are bringing, in this case a triple threat of virus, has already landed in a number of states and it may only be a matter of time before they settle across Colorado.
The storm is a cauldron of viruses that has already created health emergencies that have hop- scotched across the country. This trifecta is COVID, influenza and what doctors are calling RSV. RSV is a virus that mimics symptoms of both cold and flu and, in some cases, can be deadly especially in infants and older people. The Centers for Disease Control says no one is immune.
“It’s too early to see,” said Sarah Joseph, Public Information Officer of the Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment. “We are watching for a perfect storm for RSV, covid and flu that could result in a surge on local hospitals.” But because departments like Joseph’s and others around the state don’t routinely receive information on doctor or emergency room visits but only on hospitalizations no hard numbers are available. But the numbers they are receiving in regions already impacted by these microscopic agents show the state and country may be in for yet another winter of discontent.
The CDC reports that positivity rates for one or more of the viruses are as high as 10 percent and that as much as 75 percent of the country’s 40,000 pediatric beds are currently full. While there has been no official proclama- tion that these viruses have landed on our state, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment “is monitoring an increase in hospitalizations and outbreaks for Respiratory Syncytial Virus.” The department’s news release said, “cases are occurring earlier than usual in the respiratory illness season.”
Health officials say bed capacity across the country averages 70 percent. In Arizona, Idaho and Utah, states to the west of Colorado, and midwestern states like Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and Oklahoma it is even higher with all reporting 80 percent capacity. In Delaware Maine, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Texas, capacity has reached 90 percent.
While not everyone will contract one or more of these bugs, vaccinations will certainly help avoid them, say health experts. Everyone, as the trends are showing right now, is a potential target.
State health also says the virus “spreads by inhaling or having contact with virus-containing droplets (typically through the mouth, nose, or eyes) produced by a person with RSV infection when talking, coughing, and sneezing.” Most people contracting RSV will experience nothing more than cold symptoms. But infants can experience serious health issues that include fever, loss of appetite and dif- ficulty breathing.”
This latest viral threat comes on the heels of the worst pandemic in more than a century. COVID-19 killed more than a million Americans. In Colorado, more than 13,600 deaths were attributed to the virus, but more than 1.6 million cases were officially counted. Fortunately, health officials are not expecting anywhere near CCOVID’s numbers despite the looming possibility of a serious winter health season. The numbers, so far, bear this out. That, however, is no reason, they say, to drop your guard.
“Hospital reports indicate that the increase in RSV cases is putting a strain on the pediatric hospital system,” said state health. All agencies are coordinating across all hospitals “to protect hospital capacity.” In the metro area, state health has county 292 RSV-associated hospitalizations across the five-county region, which it says is “more than double the number from the same timeframe in 2021.”
The best advice for minimizing one’s chances of becoming infected is the same advice as when COVID was ravaging the state and nation: increase handwashing, disinfect surfaces and areas and vaccination. Unfortunately, said Pueblo’s Joseph, while getting a flu shot is sound advice, it still takes approximately two weeks for it to gain traction against infection. Also, for the present, there is no vaccine for RSV.
The good news is that getting a flu shot or catching up with the available COVID shots will lower your risk of being admitted to a hospital with severe symptoms. Also, a 2018 CDC-supported study said that a flu shot for adults reduced the risk of being admitted to an ICU with the flu by 82 percent.
State health recommends the best way to prevent illness from one or more of these viruses is to be vigilant and practice good basic health routines: Stay home when you’re sick; encourage children to cover their nose and mouth with a tissue or upper arm when coughing or sneezing; keep surfaces clean; avoid sharing cups and eating utensils and touching your face with unwashed hands; if your child shows early signs of respiratory distress, consider taking them to their primary care physician for evaluation.
We are in the first days of November and the coldest months lie ahead. That means we’re at the starting point of what could be a long winter health wise and with little to no idea of when the peak of virus season will occur. But some modeling is already predicting that there will be some spikes before year’s end. Other research also predicts that a new wave may follow in the early months of 2023.
Health officials says the best defense against becoming a target of any respiratory virus is caution and common sense. COVID, after all, is still claiming an estimated 350 lives each week. Doctors say masks, ubiquitous during COVID, are still a good idea. Keep them handy, especially in crowded areas.
