OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Five-week-old Jude was diagnosed earlier this week with RSV and it started with congestion and a cough.
"He did start having more labored breathing. He was retracting so his ribcage was pretty sunken in when he was breathing. He wasn't eating well," said Julisa Hurst, mother of Jude.
Hurst said her older son was sick last week and thought it was just allergies.
"But then Jude got sick this week or the beginning of the week. I was thinking maybe our older son had given it to him and we were looking more like RSV," Hurst said.
According to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human services, this year already we have seen a significant increase in positive RSV tests. Earlier this month 297 positive tests were reported. That same time last year we saw 93.
"It's been really tough just because this was something that we typically saw in the winter time and now we are seeing it in the spring and fall," said Dr. Shannon Godsil, a general pediatrician at Children's Physicians, Val Verde.
Godsil said this virus hits kids differently.
"In general we see that RSV hits kids under six months a whole lot harder than it does older kids," Godsil said.
Symptoms can be similar to other viruses, but breathing is a challenge.
"What we see a lot of the time is kids not only having nasal congestion and cough but they also have what's called increased work of breathing or sometimes retractions," Godsil said.
With increased cases, hospitalizations are up too and for most kids, there is no vaccine.
"It is really important that you get all of your other vaccines in order to best protect yourself from the other things that are going on right now," Godsil said.
Hurst is unsure when they will get out of the hospital but said parents should trust their gut if their child starts to show symptoms.
"We as parents have a strong gut feeling and it's sometimes easy to second guess yourself, but if your gut is telling you something is wrong then get the help that you need," Hurst said.
Testing is available to distinguish between COVID-19, the flu and RSV. You're encouraged to visit a pediatrician if your child is showing any symptoms.
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