Isolation 'has made children more susceptible to common illnesses'

Dr John Twomey, consultant paediatrician, Children’s Ark, University Hospital Limerick. Picture: UHL

Cases of the common childhood infection respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) more than doubled last year when compared to 2020, figures show.

There were 4,382 cases of RSV during 2021, compared to 1,947 in 2020, according to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre’s (HPSC) annual infectious diseases tally. This is an increase of 2,435 cases.

Parents and paediatric doctors around the country have flagged RSV as a growing concern, especially over the last few months, as children resumed schooling and other social activities.

Consultants and GPs have warned because children were isolating for much of 2020 and even early last year, they have little resistance now to bugs like RSV.

At University Hospital Limerick, numbers attending the paediatric emergency department between September and November shot up by 55% compared to the same period in 2020.

Admissions also spiked, with 49% more children needing a hospital bed in that time compared to the year before, said Dr John Twomey, a paediatrician at the hospital.

“The majority of cases are caused by respiratory syncytial virus and influenza [flu virus],” he said. "We continue to see relatively low levels of Covid-19 infection in this age group."

He said RSV is not serious for “most children”.

However some children, such as those under the age of two, those born prematurely, or those with a heart condition can have more serious consequences such as bronchiolitis, inflammation of the lower airways,” Dr Twomey said.

Symptoms can last for up to three weeks, and there is no specific treatment. “Antibiotics, ventolin nebulisers, inhalers, and oral steroids do not work,” he said.

Unfortunately, he does not expect to see any great change in the remaining weeks of this winter.

“Because children had limited contact with one another last year, their exposure to all respiratory viruses and resultant immune response was diminished, and therefore more children will have lower immunity to these viruses,” he said.

Paediatric consultant and head of the emergency department in Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin, Dr Carol Blackburn, previously told the Irish Examiner that a higher-than-usual number of toddlers were suffering repeat bouts of viruses like RSV following the lockdowns.

The HPSC figures also show, however, that cases of mumps fell significantly from 2,921 in 2020 to 111 last year. Cases of chickenpox were little affected by the pandemic, with 24 reported for last year compared with 25 in 2020. There were just four cases of measles last year, slightly down on the six cases during 2020.

Cases of meningococcal disease dropped from 22 to 11 last year.

Advice for treating RSV at home is available on the University Hospital Limerick website.