A mother of two children in hospital with a serious respiratory virus is urging other parents in South Otago to keep unwell children at home in a bid to stop its spread.
Both of her children, one aged 3 and the other 9 months, were diagnosed this week with Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) — a highly contagious illness that causes trouble with breathing in babies, young children and the elderly, and can sometimes lead to hospitalisation due to complications such as bronchiolitis and pneumonia.
The mother, who declined to be named, believed her 3-year-old caught it at an early learning centre, and her 9-month-old, who was born premature, caught it soon after.
"I had one child in hospital two days ago with temperatures of 40°C-upwards and a horrific cough and major breathlessness.
"The little one is just not able to settle and obviously in pain with the cough, and the older one has body aches as well — basically, flu-like symptoms."
She said it was circulating around early childhood centres and schools in Milton and Balclutha.
"I think we've got 24 out of 35 kids off sick from our kindy at the moment.
"I think it’s an outbreak around South Otago."
The mother said the virus could be managed at home, but because her children were so sick, they had been taken to hospital in case their condition deteriorated.
She urged other parents to be aware that RSV was out there and to practise good hygiene.
"I think it's also so serious that we shouldn’t be sending kids out to kindy and stuff like that when they're sick — even if it's just a small cough.
"For some people, it might just be a small cough, but for a lot of people, it's not.
"I’m urging parents to keep their kids home if they're unwell at the moment because there's a definite possibility it could be RSV."
Attempts to contact South Otago doctors about the situation failed yesterday.
However, the Milton Medical Centre has posted information about RSV on its website.
A medical officer of health was unable to confirm if there was an outbreak of RSV because it was not a notifiable disease.
However, she said it was a serious illness for children and the elderly, and she, too, urged people to follow public health advice to avoid contracting the virus or spreading it.
RSV is transmitted easily through respiratory droplets from coughing or sneezing,
and by touching contaminated surfaces.
Symptoms include a runny nose, coughing, sneezing, fever, and wheezing, and, in infants, it may present as irritability, decreased activity and difficulty breathing.
While most children with mild symptoms can recover at home, it can be serious for infants and the elderly, potentially leading to hospitalisation.
It is a major cause of lower respiratory tract infections and hospitalisations in children under 2 in New Zealand.
Treatment is usually supportive care at home, and prevention involves frequent handwashing and avoiding close contact with sick individuals.
