A HIGH number of flu cases and a respiratory virus that disproportionally affects infants has added pressure to general practitioner surgeries and emergency departments dealing with the strep A outbreak.
High numbers of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases have been reported across Europe, most notably Ireland, France, Spain and Sweden.
The Public Health Agency reported 669 cases here over the last eight weeks, including 476 among children aged under four and under.
But the agency added that the numbers reported have been failing over the last seven weeks after the season for the virus began in late summer, earlier than in pre-Covid times.
“Changes in social contact during the pandemic may have disrupted the normal seasonal pattern. Over the last seven weeks, there has been a fall in RSV cases in Northern Ireland,” a spokesperson said.
The agency explained that RSV causes infections of the lungs and respiratory tract. Symptoms are generally mild and typically mimic the common cold.
However, RSV can cause severe infection in some people, including babies 12 months and younger, particularly premature new borns, older adults, people with heart and lung disease, or anyone with a weak immune system. It is the main cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in infants.
“It is important for everyone to be aware of the signs and symptoms of RSV and take steps to protect themselves and help reduce the spread of the illnesses,” the PHA said
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said a number of countries had been experiencing unusually early increases in RSV detections, with rising paediatric hospital admissions in France, Ireland, Spain, Sweden and the US.
“With the continued impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the circulation and health impact of other respiratory pathogens, it is challenging to predict how the new winter period will develop,” a joint statement by the ECDC, European Commission and World Health Organization said.
As the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children continues to treat record high numbers, one leading paediatrician said cases of strep A should level off within weeks.
Hundreds of children have been brought to the Falls Road hospital over the course of the week, some of them from outside the Belfast Trust area.
Dr Ray Nethercott, of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, told BBC News: "This is an infection that [normally] starts in early spring time, it peaks after several weeks and then settles down again.
"It's really difficult to be precise, but I would be expecting that we will see this infection settle over the space of another few weeks."
