RSV

Influenza & Children

Pneumonia

(1/29/99)

Nasty respiratory infections are sending Utah patients to the hospital in droves.

Utah County has seen a dramatic increase in illnesses this week. And RSV cases at Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake, have jumped from 1 to 20 in just three weeks.

Science Specialist Ed Yeates has the story.

Respiratory Syncitial Virus illnesses were hitting Primary Children's a lot harder last year at this time, but now the numbers are climbing this year.

While RSV remains low in Utah County, other respiratory illnesses there are taking a toll.

At Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, 6-year-old Chase Draney and 12-year-old Paul Perry are doubling up because the pediatric unit is almost full. Both youngsters have pneumonia.

Paul says, "I was feeling yucky in my stomach. I had a headache. I was coughing like crazy." All of Paul's six brothers and sisters have been sick. His father, Dan, explains, "They'll come down with a fever for a few days and we'll get it under control and then we'll think they're over it and then they come down with a fever again."

For Chase Draney, the pneumonia came on fast. His father, Casey, says, "Well, he missed four days of school and then we took him to the doctor and they put him right in here."

Dr. Tracy Hill, of Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, says, "We have 24 inpatients in the pediatric wing and 12 of those are pneumonia. So that's unusual. On the adult side, we've had a spike of kind of respiratory type infections."

Utah Valley Regional Medical Center is at 96 percent capacity. The pediatrics unit has only two beds left. After that, nurses will have to send patients to other hospitals.

Marta Beaudry's 15-month-old son was admitted with RSV and pneumonia. She told us, "I have a two-year-old at home too and she's also getting sick. so I know it's very widespread."

Paul and Chase will probably go home in a couple of days. But the hospital expects their beds to soon be filled by other patients.