Americas should be on ‘alert’ as COVID, flu, RSV spread, health organization warns

The Americas are experiencing a “triple threat” of respiratory illnesses with rising cases of COVID-19, flu and RSV, and all countries should be on “alert,” PAHO says.

North and South America are experiencing a “triple threat” of respiratory illnesses with rising cases of COVID-19, flu and RSV – a situation that should be have all countries on “alert,” the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) says.

“Significant” surges of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are particularly challenging, as this virus affects some of the most vulnerable — young children, especially those under two — and there is no licensed vaccine for this illness, said Dr. Carissa Etienne, director of the PAHO, which is a regional arm of the World Health Organization.

High RSV activity is burdening health systems in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Hawaii and the continental United States and some pediatric hospitals in these areas are reaching capacity as a result of this surge, Etienne said during a briefing in Washington, D.C. Wednesday.

That this is happening at the same time as an early beginning of the flu season and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is more than concerning, she said.

“The rise of a single respiratory infection is a cause for concern. But when two or three start impacting the population concurrently, this should put us all on alert.”

Children’s hospitals across Canada have reported significant surges in patients in recent weeks, including some in Ontario that have had to cancel major surgeries to redeploy staff to help in overcrowded emergency departments and intensive care units.

The situation has been further exacerbated by a shortage of children’s pain and fever medications in Canada, which has prompted the federal government to approve an exceptional importation of ibuprofen from the United States and acetaminophen from Australia to supply hospitals and retail stores amid the shortages.

Dr. Katharine Smart, a pediatrician and past president of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), told Global News this week other respiratory illnesses are also spreading among children in Canada, including enterovirus, rhinovirus, human metapneumovirus and parainfluenza — all of which are contributing to significant strains in emergency departments across the country.