SAN DIEGO — Doctors at Rady Children's Hospital said RSV cases have increased slightly, but they're seeing more kids coming in with the flu.
"We're used to seeing waves of viruses, one after the other. I have never seen all of the viruses circulating at the same time," said Dr. John Bradley, Director of Infectious Diseases at Rady Children's Hospital.
Last week, he talked about what was contributing to long wait times in the emergency room, which averaged six hours or more.
Children were coming in sick with COVID, RSV and the flu.
But, it was RSV, a respiratory virus, that was the biggest concern, especially for parents of young babies, some of whom wound up hospitalized for several days.
“What RSV does especially in younger children is it causes inflammation in the lungs,” said Dr. Bradley.
Over the span of three weeks, 650 kids at Rady Children's tested positive for RSV. On Wednesday, CBS 8 checked in with the hospital to get a status on cases.
A spokesperson said over the past seven days, there have been 227 RSV cases, up from 206 the week before. Right now, 60 children are hospitalized.
Doctors are seeing a bigger jump in the flu. Over last seven days, Rady Children's has had 169 positive influenza tests. That's up from 66 positive tests during the previous seven days.
Right now, nine kids are hospitalized with the flu. San Diego County wide, flu numbers have also exploded.
“We're bracing because the numbers are still going up,” said Denise Foster, the Chief Nursing Officer with the County of San Diego. She says typically, flu cases spike in early winter.
But, county numbers show in the week ending October 22, there were 856 positive flu cases, up from 591 the week before. Compare that to the same week last year, when there were just 15 cases.
Foster says it's a good reminder to practice good hygiene, stay home if you're sick, and if you haven't done so yet, get your flu shot.
“The case rates are really high. People sometimes like to wait until later in the year to get a vaccine. This is not the year to do it. Now is the time to get the vaccine. Prepare yourself stay healthy especially in preparation for the holidays,” said Foster.
The county will be releasing updated flu numbers Thursday morning. The flu vaccine is widely available at local hospitals, pharmacies and through the county. You can call 211 for more information.
To check on ER wait times at Rady Children’s, click here.
WATCH RELATED: How far along researchers in creating a drug or vaccine for RSV? (Oct. 2022).
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