Children’s hospitals remain under severe stress in Canada amid a resurgence of respiratory viruses in children, persistent shortages of painkillers for children, and the return of the annual flu season.
Federal data across the country shows that respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections are higher than expected levels for this time of year and continue to increase, and influenza is spreading more widely and earlier than usual.
It is clear that health care workers are scrambling to care for “unprecedented” numbers of critically ill young patients, with some Canadian hospitals now resorting to canceling surgeries and transferring patients in order to free up space.
It is not entirely clear why there are so many sick children at once.
And while scientists say it’s hard to know the full answer, they do have a few theories.
Respiratory syncytial virus is back in activity following epidemic levels drop
When it comes to the stress of respiratory syncytial virus — a widespread infection among children — it may now be twice as effective as it was in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Immunologist Deepta Bhattacharya, a professor at the University of Arizona, has shown that RSV cases fell to very low levels in 2020, “most likely due to a combination of precautions taken during the coronavirus” — which included social distancing, mask-wearing and widespread lockdowns. During which part of the workforce started working from home.
He explained that the production of antibodies in the immune system following infection with respiratory syncytial virus decreases fairly quickly.
He added that this means that more people are susceptible to infection, and those who become infected do not have many antibodies to slow down the virus, and mothers who have not been infected with the virus recently do not pass many antibodies to their children through breast milk.
And in July 2021, several Canadian scientists wrote, commenting on the respiratory syncytial virus, that for several months, Canada had virtually no cases of respiratory syncytial virus infection, which may mean that pregnant women and infants have been infected less and thus children’s immunity levels may be low. So a resurgence of infections might deplete resources from pediatric intensive care units across the country.
Transmission of viruses changes every year
Canada finally saw a moderate rise in RSV cases in early 2021 – but it didn’t lead to the current level of pressure on hospitals.
Dawn Bowdish, an immunologist at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, explained that with influenza making a strong return, along with a list of respiratory viruses including the Covid virus, co-infection may also be a factor in the high rates of serious illness.
Each virus affects the body in a different way, and research in adults suggests that people infected with multiple viruses at once, such as those who had Covid, along with influenza or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), might experience worse outcomes.
What role did covid 19 play?
While scientists scramble to understand the current viral landscape, other theories that try to explain the current crisis in pediatric health care include possible effects on the immune system as a result of previous infections with Covid 19, and perhaps in line with health problems that follow infection with Covid, which raises questions regarding damage to immune systems. Children following contracting Covid, which makes them vulnerable to serious illness as a result of other germs, but according to many medical experts, this is unlikely, but not impossible.
Calls to re-mask and vaccination campaigns
Several children’s hospitals across the country are reporting they are over capacity, while federal officials say they have finally obtained foreign supplies of children’s heat and pain medications to ease months-long shortages, which might give parents greater ability to treat sick children at home.
Conversations regarding using masks to mitigate transmission of the virus are also growing, with senior public health officials in many regions calling for people to wear a mask this fall and winter.
In addition, extensive vaccination campaigns once morest influenza and coronavirus are also important, along with other preventive measures.