ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A local mother said her newborn remained hospitalized for weeks after contracting RSV in early January.
Mariah Perera said she noticed her 3-month-old was having difficulty breathing on New Year's Day.
She brought her daughter to a local hospital but was soon sent home.
"At first, she was very congested, and she was wheezing, but nothing serious, so I got out the dehumidifier that night," she said.
She returned to a different hospital when her daughter did not improve. Eventually, her daughter was airlifted to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital.
Perera said her daughter was on a ventilator for more than a week. After nearly three weeks in the hospital, she was able to bring her daughter home on Monday.
"If they didn't fly her to Johns Hopkins when they did, my daughter was not going to make it," said Perera.
"It was hard when I tell you, I thought I was going to lose my daughter. I was ready to give up. My whole life was shattering. That's my baby," she said.
Her family created a GoFundMe page to give updates on Lailani, who became sick with RSV on Jan. 1.
Perera said no one in her family was sick but urged people not to allow others to kiss their babies.
"Keep your hands clean, keep those babies at home until they're about six months old, like clean your shirt, change your clothes after coming home from work, anything you need to do. Just be clean," she said.
According to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, RSV is a viral infection that can lead to inflammation of the respiratory tract and lungs.
The peak time for RSV to spread is during fall and winter. Most children and adults with RSV will have mild symptoms similar to the common cold and recover in one to two weeks. In children younger than one year, RSV is the most common cause of inflammation of the lungs, such as bronchiolitis and pneumonia.
Typically, symptoms of RSV start within four to six days after exposure. The early symptoms are often mild and similar to a common cold.
Common symptoms may include:
- Runny nose
- Coughing
- Sneezing
- Wheezing
- Decreased appetite
- Low fever
Dr. Meghan Martin, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, said cases of RSV have declined. Hospital staff is seeing an increase in influenza cases and a slight increase in COVID-19 cases.
"We are still seeing a little bit of RSV, but in this area, it seems to be tapering off a little bit. RSV causes a lot of little kids to be breathing really hard and wheezing, cough, runny nose, fever. We're starting to see a little bit of an uptick of COVID-19."
Dr. Martin said she usually saw about one to two cases of COVID-19 on her shift, but now she sees about five or six cases each shift.
Statewide, cases of RSV and the positivity rate are on the decline.
"We need to see them in the emergency department if they're having difficulty breathing, they're breathing fast and using extra muscles, or if they're starting to get dehydrated, not having as much urine output or any change in their mental status," said Dr. Martin.
"Generally, adults handle it, and it's a mild cold. For kids under 12 months, those with heart problems, lung problems, prematurity, those kids are hit especially hard," she added.
