Oklahoma Sees Spike In Respiratory Virus Among Children

An unusual spike in Respiratory Virus Among Children is concerning doctors in Oklahoma. Below is an interview with Dr. Cameron Mantor, chief medical officer of Oklahoma Children's Hospital, where he outlines the new dangers to both small children and the hospital system. He also gives advice to parents how to protect their children from this concerning spike in cases.

The symptoms are familiar - fever, runny nose, coughing, trouble breathing - but we're not talking about COVID. Doctors in many states are seeing an unexpected spike in children contracting another respiratory virus. It's called RSV, and it normally emerges in colder months, which makes its presence this summer troubling. Oklahoma is one of the states that's seen a big rise in pediatric RSV cases. And Dr. Cameron Mantor is chief medical officer of Oklahoma Children's Hospital in Oklahoma City.

We have patients that are in the hospital, particularly young children who can get quite ill, be in the ICU, be on the ventilator, have true respiratory failure from this virus.

Staffing is unquestionably a concern. There are days when we can't fill all of our physical beds because we simply do not have enough nurses. There are days when we have had to transfer patients away from our emergency room, even out of state. 

What we do know is that RSV is an incredibly common virus that adults have but don't get sick from, but it doesn't prevent us from transferring it to our kids. And so we're typically a normal vector for RSV.

When you've already got this spike in RSV cases, Oklahoma City schools are scheduled to begin the new school year on Monday, and the state will not allow schools to require masks. 

with the number of cases that we're seeing today, that's a great concern of ours. We know that respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, is a typical respiratory virus, just as is the coronavirus. And they are spread like normal respiratory viruses. And when kids get amongst themselves and are unmasked, they're going to spread the virus.

RSV and COVID. It's sort of the same thing. They're both spread in the same way. So parents, if you feel like you've got a cough or cold, protect your kids by either not being around them as best you can or just wear a mask. Wash your hands is very, very important. COVID is the same way, but for adults, we have the ability to vaccinate. So you can absolutely protect your kids by going and getting vaccinated.

And then lastly, when your kids go to school, if they're ill, you know, maybe it's better to keep your kids home. Or if they are well and they're going to go to school, there's no reason that parents can't ask their child to proactively wear a mask. They're used to it now. It's quite common.

NPR

Ok so the common cold? Loser still recommended the none science of masking children. The wheels fall of the argument about there even being minuscule effect when proper handling is applied which not one single child will do. Development issues from early years over masking.

So masking kids is not only stupid, it’s dangerous reckless and frankly degenerate.

Wash your hands tho.

Also do kids still get the chicken pox? Or are we going to rebrand it to something that sounds better like blister pox or avian boils I dunno something.

a reply to: dandandat2

I didn't give RSV fear-mongering a second thought when both of my winter birthday kids were babies and most vulnerable, and this was when it was beat into preggies' heads as the Devil Incarnate of viruses toward babies.

Second thoughts are still not given today.

I see kids all the time at McDonalds after school. It seems like there is no problem here with children since they don't were a mask on PE and school breaks.

I wonder if this outbreak has to do with the illegal immigration people being transferred into Oklahoma ?

Hey Aqualung
these horrid little urchins, Snot's running down their nose, Greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes,
are a direct attack on
the mystical, wonderful, magical
health care system.

P.S.
The reason the little buggers are getting winter colds in the summer
is because
their neurotic, corona fearing mothers
won't let them play outside in the sunshine.

Hey, Aqualung
Sitting on a park bench
Eyeing little girls with bad intent
Snot's running down his nose
Greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes
Hey, Aqualung
Drying in the cold sun
Watching as the frilly panties run
Hey, Aqualung
Feeling like a dead duck
Spitting out pieces of his broken luck
Oh, Aqualung

originally posted by: Athetos
Also do kids still get the chicken pox? Or are we going to rebrand it to something that sounds better like blister pox or avian boils I dunno something.

Nah. We have a vaccine for that now.

a reply to: dandandat2

They lie, when I was in the school system at this time of the year we had a virus that will infect the kids on the first weeks of school, every year, it was just the same symptoms been described in the original post and also vomiting and diarrhea, we the Teaches used to call it the "back to school flu".

No kid ever died from it that I knew about it, but many have to stay home and parents did not like at all.

I got infected with the children all the time, I hate it, because it can develop into strep throat.

Is not new anything is just pushing for the darn killer virus crap and people are drinking this crap like crazy.

Hay figures I would have missed it being a 90s kid didn’t come out till 95 and I had already had the pox.

I am pro vaccine don’t get me wrong I’ve had many many vaccines. Which have kept all of the illnesses promised at bay for the entirety of my life and I haven’t heard of any breakthrough cases of any of the things I am vaxed for occurring to anyone I know.

But to just believe every available vaccine is worthwhile or needed or even safe by virtue of what it is or who provides it is just none sense.

a reply to: LordAhriman

We have this going around in Aotearoa right now too. I think 9 people have died so far including maybe two 60plus year olds. I have even had children at my early childhood centre with it. Some of them ended up in hospital. They say it is because of lower immunity due to lockdown last year, but we weren't even in lockdown during our winter.

www.nzherald.co.nz...

Same with RSV in kids here in SATX. It's early in the year and numbers are high.

Seeing same type thing with a couple different bacterial pneumonias in elderly.

We've been in a masked bubble for so long, I almost wonder if when the masks were allowed to come off, our bodies became naive to the bugs, that before the bubble, we had nearly daily exposure to and thus a robust response to the frequent minor exposures. Now maybe our immune response isn't as agile, essentially forgetting the signatures of some bad bugs?

What's next? Mandatory pneumovax shots for anyone over 60? Do they reduce the recommended age so more people can get the shot? Well, if it does go that route, at least it's a fully FDA approved vaccine, with known contraindications, known side effects, and a pretty decent track record of success....unlike somethings being injected today.

Love me some JT!

originally posted by: sraven
P.S.
The reason the little buggers are getting winter colds in the summer
is because
their neurotic, corona fearing mothers
won't let them play outside in the sunshine.

Well, that, and they feed them garbage like McDonalds all the time.