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Health departments across Nebraska are battling respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, cases after the virus surged unusually early for the second year in a row.
State epidemiologist Matt Donahue said RSV usually peaks in January. However, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services reported nearly 400 cases of RSV this week. Health departments in Lancaster and Douglas counties have also reported unusually high numbers in October, as well as a strain on resources like pediatric hospital beds.
Donahue said these early cases may be a response to first-wave COVID-19 precautions. Donahue said two years ago, masking and social distancing impacted the spread of COVID-19 and caused RSV numbers to plummet.
“Something happened that year where because of all the behavioral changes that were in place, because of COVID-19, there was no RSV," Donahue said.
In 2021, cases returned in August and peaked five months earlier than normal. Donahue said it also took longer for the cases to taper off. However, this year’s RSV is surging in October, which is closer to the normal peak.
“I think what we're seeing this year is a slow transition of RSV seasons back to where when they normally occur,” Donahue said. “We're not as early as we were last year. We're a bit closer to a normal peak. I think the season is just slowly moving back to normal.”
Phillip Rooney, a spokesman for the Douglas County Health Department, shared the same sentiment: that precautions from the pandemic slowed down said slowed down the spread of other respiratory viruses like RSV.
“You do have people back in school. You have people gathering for more and more events,” Rooney said. “So, it's in situations like that that communicable diseases are spread.”
This year, cases have been especially prominent in young children. In Lancaster County, 85% of cases have been children under the age of six. This county has also recorded RSV outbreaks in at least 13 childcare facilities, according to the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department. Donahue said the state is also seeing more young children in the emergency room.
To protect their children, the state epidemiologist said parents should advise their kids to cover their coughs and limit close contact with others that may be sick.
Weekly updates of COVID-19 and RSV numbers are available on the DHHS's Nebraska Respiratory Illness Dashboard.