As expected, pH1N1-related hospital admissions have spiked- in Memphis they are seeking an increase in pediatric cases at Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center (18 patients since the first of the year). This is nearly the exact same moment (late January) resurgence of A/H2N2 was noted in the example we provided in a prior post. Vaccinations here are critical to avoid the potential of a pH1N1 / RSV epidemic curve overlap that could strain the pediatric medical infrastructure- particularly the pediatric intensive care units. Current reporting from pediatric intensivists suggest they are finding this to be a "bad" year for RSV:
"Besides being a bad RSV year, we seem to be seeing a new phenotype: term kids without any suggestion of chronic lung disease with severe small airway obstruction that is very responsive to bronchodilators. Seems very different in terms of duration of ventilation and response to bronchodilators than anything I've seen in the past."
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