Children’s Hospital ICU still swamped

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This article was published 28/12/2022 (630 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

High rates of respiratory viruses continue to cause severe illness among young children, but no cases of invasive strep have been reported in Manitoba to date.

Manitoba’s pediatric intensive care unit is still treating more than double its pre-pandemic maximum number of patients.

Twenty-one patients were in the pediatric intensive care unit at Children’s Hospital as of Thursday morning; the unit normally has nine beds.

“A majority of pediatric patients in intensive care this morning were infants or toddlers that were experiencing severe respiratory symptoms associated with influenza A and RSV bronchiolitis,” Shared Health stated.

On Wednesday, the Children’s Hospital ER logged 131 visits. Nearly half (63 patients) were either infected with influenza or had flu-like symptoms. Of those 131 patients, 74 were triaged as having mid- to high levels of sickness.

Patient volumes in the Children’s Hospital ER haven’t reached November’s record highs, and currently average 131.5 per day.

The high rate of serious illness has health officials repeatedly urging families to get children six months or older vaccinated against influenza and to stay home when sick, in addition to keeping up hand-washing, masking in large crowds, cleaning regularly and not sharing items such as drinks or face towels.

A surge of invasive strep (also known as strep A, which can cause strep throat and other infections) has been blamed for severe illness and even some deaths among young children in the U.K. and the U.S.

It prompted an official warning from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which was first notified in November of an increase in invasive strep among pediatric patients in hospital in Colorado. In Dec. 22 statement, the CDC warned that children who have been, or are currently infected, with the flu or other viruses are at higher risk of becoming severely ill if they contract strep A.

In particular, parents must keep an eye out for a purple rash.

A Shared Health spokesperson confirmed Thursday no cases of invasive strep have been reported at Children’s Hospital, but they encourage caregivers to watch closely for symptoms.

Shared Health stated symptoms include: “a sudden worsening of flu-like symptoms, a significant sore throat, worsening of a previously improving fever, a strawberry tongue, or the development of a very red rash to the chest, abdomen and face, which is typically redder in the armpits and the groin/diaper area. If a child develops a purple rash that does not go away when you press on it, call 911.”

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Katie May
Reporter

Katie May is a general-assignment reporter for the Free Press.

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