RSV cases skyrocket in El Paso
EL PASO, Texas-- With a 369% increase in RSV cases this year, and 162 cases just in October, this respiratory infection is storming through the Borderland. Talking to many people in El Paso today, we are facing what could be an even more alarming fact: many do not know what this infection is and how to stay away from it.
El Paso resident Clarissa Salenas says she is fearful because up until our interview, she did not know what the infection was or how it spread through the Borderland. She is urging doctors to give us more information to protect us from RSV, a respiratory infection that can spread to all ages, but in particular, infants that are ages two and under are most at risk.
After talking with Jeffrey Schuster, the Chief Medical Officer at El Paso Children's Hospital, he believes the reality of not wearing masks anymore is why this infection is rising so rapidly; unlike influenza and Covid-19, there is no vaccine for RSV. Schuster recommends that before you come home from work to play with your kids, you must wash your hands.
Officials at the El Paso Children's Hospital feel more than confident that with the proper resources, they will be able to fight back against this infection.
