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Babies hospitalized after highly contagious virus spreads early

CATAWBA COUNTY, N.C. — Like most parents, Abigail Hoyle takes precautions to keep her 9-month-old son healthy.

She knows about respiratory syncytial virus, RSV; a highly contagious respiratory virus that infects the lungs and can lead to serious health problems for babies under 1-year-old.

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What she didn't know until Eyewitness News reporter Liz Foster told her is that doctors at Catawba Valley Medical Center are already seeing babies admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit with RSV and lack of oxygen.

Doctors at Catawba Valley Medical Center told Channel 9 that they typically don't see patients with the virus until after Thanksgiving.

[RELATED: Catawba County man gets 30-year sentence for 2014 infant beating death]

"Makes me feel nervous about going out," said Hoyle.

Neonatologist Dr. Samuel Wellman told Channel 9 that RSV cases this early means the season is starting earlier or will be worse than usual.

'It has a very high infection rate," said Wellman.

School-aged children and up to adults who have RSV, likely never know it and tend to just have cold symptoms.

"Even a cold could be RSV and you not know it. So you can't take any chances with his health because something we might get over in a week, he could be hospitalized for," said Hoyle.

RSV is very common. In fact, the CDC said almost all children will have had the virus by their second birthday, but there's no vaccine or treatment for it.

"What the parents need to know is if their baby has cold symptoms, they probably don't need to go to the pediatrician. If their baby starts having very rapid breathing or sort of having retractions, having a hard time, sucking in when they breathe, or having trouble feeding because of breathing, they need to see a pediatrician," said Wellman.

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Hoyle told Foster she'll continue to take extra precautions.

"Probably just keep him inside and away from public sooner even, which is hard because of the holiday season coming up and going to visit family."

Doctors told Channel 9 that there is a possible silver lining. The earlier the season for RSV starts, the earlier it tends to end, which is around March or April.

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