North-east doctors are warning of a respiratory virus that has been spreading to babies, leaving them in comas and on ventilators.
Children’s hospitals typically experience a spike in RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) patients in winter, but it appears to be circulating “unseasonably early” this year.
While it presents like a mild cold in adults, it can cause a devastating chest infection for infants which can’t be remedied with antibiotics.
Paediatricians say it is giving them more “cause for concern” than Covid-19.
And one north-east mum has told of her heartbreak, after seeing her nine-week-old son placed in an induced coma then airlifted to Edinburgh as he fought the infection.
What is treatment like?
In younger children, the virus can lead to a more serious chest infection called bronchiolitis.
With no cure, and antibiotics ineffective, it means infants’ immune systems have to clear away the infection on their own.
They will usually be given extra oxygen and fed milk through a tube going from their nose into their stomach while they battle the illness.
In August, Aberdeen mum-of-three Emma Beattie began to worry about her youngest child, Oliver, who had started wheezing.
“It was alarming me, his breathing. He was sucking in at his ribs and his throat,” she said.
“From there he deteriorated, but not as quickly as some of the other babies I’ve heard have.”
Induced coma
Emma took Oliver, who was nine-weeks-old at the time and had been born prematurely, to the emergency department at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
He was given different types of oxygen to try and help his breathing, with little success.
Doctors also moved him to the high dependency unit to ensure he would receive all the necessary care.
“I believe Oliver was the first baby in high dependency, but three more followed that same day wall with RSV,” Emma said.
“They decided to intubate him and put him on a ventilator.
“They took him to theatre to do that, then put him in an induced coma and flew us to Edinburgh intensive care to look after him.”
‘He wasn’t struggling any more’
It took a full week for Oliver’s immune system to clear out the infection, allowing him to regain his strength.
During this time Emma knew her son was in good hands.
She said: “The whole time, I was receiving a lot of reassurance from doctors and nurses because it’s so common and they know exactly how to treat it.
“I wasn’t worried he wasn’t going to be okay, but it was very hard watching him struggle to breathe for so long until he did go on a ventilator.
“It is weird to feel relieved seeing your baby on a ventilator, but that’s how I felt. He was in an induced coma and he wasn’t struggling any more.”
Learn the symptoms
Dr Craig Oxley, a consultant at Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital, said: “We are seeing many more cases of RSV bronchiolitis than we would expect at this time of year and unfortunately some of these are leading to children becoming severely unwell.
“I know from speaking to colleagues in other parts of the country that we are not alone in this.
“While the focus has naturally been on Covid-19 over the last 18 months, it is actually this virus which is giving paediatricians most cause for concern.”
Emma added: “Oliver is my third child and RSV is not something I’ve ever come across.
“Almost everyone I’ve spoken to has said the same, that they’re not aware of it.
“It’s so common and the majority of babies and children can fight it themselves, it’s just that some of them can’t.”
Health advice
Anyone concerned about their child’s health should contact their GP or call NHS 24 on 111.
It is now “business as usual” for under-12s who are unwell and parents or carers who want help from the NHS.
For more information on bronchiolitis, visit the NHS Healthier Together website.
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