Infant Died from RSV: Riverside Public Health Officials Confirm RSV Outbreak
Riverside County, CA: RSV wreaked havoc on a family after a newborn baby died from the disease earlier this month.
On Friday, Jan. 19, county public health officials said the baby tested positive for RSV. A news release from the county’s public health office said a child under 1 died at the hospital after being taken there with breathing problems. There was no other information given about the baby.
The baby’s death comes at a time when there are more cases of the flu, COVID-19, and the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). There are vaccines for all three viruses, but officials say fewer people in Riverside County are getting them than in previous years.
To stop RSV, officials want expecting women between 32 and 36 weeks to get one dose of the vaccine to protect their babies. This should happen between September and January. Babies younger than 8 months who are starting their first RSV season and whose mothers did not get vaccinated should also get vaccinated.
Those older than six months are advised to receive COVID-19 and influenza vaccinations. Hand hygiene, surface disinfection, and covering coughs and sneezes are additional measures that members of the public can take to prevent the transmission of influenza, RSV, and COVID-19.
“Public Health mourns the loss of any life, but the death of a child is particularly difficult,” Director of Public Health Kim Saruwatari said in the release. “It is a loss for the community and reminds us to rededicate ourselves to doing what we can to prevent such tragedies.”
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