Oklahoma Doctors Concerned By Abnormal Summer Spike In RSV Cases

A doctor at Hillcrest Medical Center said RSV usually spikes in the winter, so seeing a rise in cases in July is strange. 

Monday, July 26th 2021, 9:42 pm



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Cases of Respiratory Syncytial Virus are increasing right now, and some Oklahoma doctors said it's abnormally high for this time of year. 

A doctor at Hillcrest Medical Center said RSV usually spikes in the winter, so seeing a rise in cases in July is strange. 

"I thought it was a little cold," said Kaitlan Alderman. "He progressively got worse."

Alderman said her 10-month-old Maddox got a runny nose, cough and fever earlier this month. He was diagnosed with pneumonia, an ear infection, and RSV.

"Having it in the middle of July, it's just kind of odd," she said.

Maddox is recovering now, but Alderman said her other son Asher had a bad case of RSV in 2019, after a doctor originally told her it was asthma.

"She tested him again and it came back positive," said Alderman. "He was in the hospital for a week on oxygen."

"Almost every kid gets it by the age of two at least one time," said Dr. Jeff Johnson.

Hillcrest Emergency Room doctor Johnson said he usually sees a spike of RSV cases in the winter. He said RSV was much lower last year because everyone was masking and staying inside, but now as people get out again, they're seeing more cases than usual. 

"This winter, I saw zero cases of it, so it was really strange," Dr. Johnson said. "Now, we're seeing what we would see in the winter during the summer. It's more through contact, being close to people, sharing drinks. The number one thing with RSV is to suction out their nose to breathe well."

Alderman said she's just glad Maddox is getting better and wants other parents to be aware.

"I'm so much happier that he's a happy baby now," said Alderman.

Dr. Johnson said as long as you keep your kids hydrated and monitor their breathing, they'll usually get better at home. 

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