Troubling rise seen in both COVID and RSV cases among children.

[2greys]

A rise in cases of a common childhood disease called respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is unfolding just as coronavirus infections are increasing among children.

RSV is a highly contagious, flu-like illness that causes symptoms such as runny nose, coughing, sneezing and fever, and is more likely to affect children and older adults, The New York Times reported.

There's been a rise in RSV cases since early June, with a notable spike in the past month, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show.

The sudden increase in cases is unusual because RSV typically begins to spread in the fall, the Times reported. Even more troubling, more children are showing up in hospitals with COVID-19 as the highly contagious Delta variant takes over the country.

"After many months of zero or few pediatric COVID cases, we are seeing infants, children and teens with COVID pouring back into the hospital, more and more each day," Dr. Heather Haq, a pediatrician at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, said in a series of Twitter posts.

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[2greys]

A rather troubling statistic that children are being targetted by the Delta variant.

[Lemon7 in reply to 2greys]

Wonder if vaccines in adults are influencing the pool of vulnerable group left for virus to infect?

[2greys in reply to Lemon7]

The virus has one purpose, to replicate, to multiply. So it is logical that it can be driven to infect children. Once children and adults are immune to all variants it will do one of two things, be forced to jump species (again) to continue it's existence and proliferate or simply die out.

[Lemon7 in reply to 2greys]

Wish it would die out now. All had enough of havoc it's caused the world.

[Badbessie]

It is very worrying the numbers of RSV in the UK are growing. Normally this hits hardest in the winter months. The growing number now is perhaps an indication for a bad winter for the NHS.