BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Last month, the CDC put out a warning about an increase in RSV cases.
The CDC describes RSV this way:
Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. Most people recover in a week or two, but RSV can be serious, especially for infants and older adults. RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways in the lung) and pneumonia (infection of the lungs) in children younger than 1 year of age in the United States.
Pediatricians at Oschner BR are saying that testing for RSV is ‘usually not necessary.’
“Parents are telling me that daycares are seeing a lot of RSV,” says Dr. Truc Dinh, a general pediatrician at Ochsner Health Center – Bluebonnet South. “We typically don’t test for RSV because it doesn’t change how we treat the symptoms. In either case, treatment is the same, so it’s not always necessary to put the child through the test.”
Evidently, some local daycares are requiring that sick children provide a negative RSV test before returning.
Oschner BR advises that a negative test does not mean your child should go back to daycare.
RSV Tests will be given upon request and an RSV or cold diagnosis brings the same care recommendations seen below:
- Children should stay home to prevent the infection from spreading
- Get lots of rest
- Drink plenty of fluids
Ochsner Health is providing ‘the basics’ about RSV here.