(KERO) — New cases of RSV, the common cold-like virus, have hit the highest level for any single week in the past two years.
Fresh data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the week ending on October 15 shows more than 73 hundred cases of respiratory syncytial virus in the U.S.
It shows 15 percent of PCR tests came back positive for the virus. For most people, RSV typically causes mild, cold-like symptoms, from which recovery time is a week or two.
However, the virus can be more serious for infants and older adults and that is reflecting in the virus putting a current strain on some U.S pediatric hospitals.
Federal health officials say America's pediatric hospital beds are more full now than they've been in the past two years. The U.S Department of Health and Human Services reports that three quarters of pediatric hospital beds are currently in use nationwide.
That compares to only about two-thirds of pediatric beds being in use on an average day over the past two years.
Some health experts predict this will be a rough winter for Americans to navigate not only RSV, but also COVID-19 and the flu.
