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At least two southeast Michigan health systems are now limiting visitors in response to an uptick in respiratory illnesses.
On Friday, Corewell Health began limiting visitors in pediatric areas at seven of its southeast Michigan hospitals because of an increase in rates of Respiratory Syncytial Virus, or RSV, and influenza. Visitors are now limited to two people during the day and one overnight.
The Detroit Medical Center also has imposed visitor restrictions. It won’t allow any visitors at or under the age of 12 on inpatient floors or observation units, while those 13 and older who have a fever, cough or rash will have to visit at other times, the health system announced in a news release Thursday.
As RSV and flu rates rise in the community, so do cases in emergency departments and hospitals, said Matthew Denenberg, Corewell Health’s Chief of Pediatrics in Southeast Michigan during a media briefing Friday. William Beaumont University Hospital in Royal Oak is at 95% capacity for pediatric beds, with a “pretty full” neonatal intensive care unit and pediatric intensive care unit, Denenberg said.
“As we see more and more children in the hospital and more and more viruses in the community, it becomes necessary to limit the number of visitors at the bedside, both to help prevent the spread of these infections, but also just for the logistics of taking care of patients when we’re this crowded,” Denenberg said. “We’ve issued our almost annual restrictions today, and they’ll continue until a lot of census starts to come down and the virus load and that community starts to decrease.”
The Corewell restrictions apply to patients in pediatric inpatient units, pediatric intensive care units, neonatal intensive care units, and birthing and postpartum units at the health system’s Grosse Pointe, Dearborn, Farmington Hills, Trenton, Troy, Wayne, and William Beaumont University Hospital in Royal Oak.
Flu activity is increasing across the country and in Michigan, according to Teena Chopra, corporate medical director of infection prevention and hospital epidemiology and antibiotic stewardship for Detroit Medical Center.
“In this period of increased influenza activity in the community, we made these changes for the safety and care of our patients,” Chopra said.
As of Jan 4, influenza was associated with 3.2% of emergency department visits across Michigan, up from 0.4% a month prior, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. For children ages zero to one, two to four, and five to 17 years old, influenza was associated with 4.7%, 7.4%, and 4.4% of emergency department visits last week. Seniors above the age of 65 were hospitalized for influenza at a rate of 1.5 per 100,000 last week, significantly higher than any other age group in Michigan.
RSV was associated with 1.1% of emergency department visits state-wide during the week ending on Jan 4, up from 0.4% a month before, according to MDHHS. The illness is associated with 12.3% of emergency department visits for children between the ages of zero and one, and 6% of visits for those ages two to four.
Denenberg said it is too soon to know how this year’s RSV numbers compare to previous winters, but Michigan has started to see an uptick in the last couple of weeks. While he is also seeing increased COVID-19 cases at this time, Denenberg is more concerned about RSV in pediatric populations.
“I’m not as concerned (about COVID-19) as I was three years ago, but like any other virus this time of year, we are seeing some increased cases,” Denenberg said. “We have a vaccine for it now, we have treatment for it. So, I’m actually in pediatrics much more concerned about RSV than I am COVID at this point.”
RSV is a common virus with cold-like symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It can cause severe illness in infants or older adults and may require hospitalization. Common symptoms include a runny nose, congestion, coughing, sneezing, fever, and wheezing, according to the CDC. Denenberg encouraged parents to seek medical care if the symptoms persist for more than three to four days.
“If they’re starting to develop (a) high fever that’s not responding if they’re having any trouble, you know, breathing or trouble staying hydrated, we certainly want you to call your doctor or come to the emergency department,” Denenberg said.
He also encouraged everyone to get the influenza and RSV vaccines. RSV vaccines are recommended for all adults above the age of 75, those older than 60 who are at high risk for severe RSV infection, and pregnant people. Infants can also receive RSV antibodies to help protect against the virus.
“As we always tell people, good hand washing, cover your mouth when you cough, try not to get into big groups of people… while you’re sick,” Denenberg said.
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