by Louise Doyle
THE HSE is urging parents to be vigilant after being notified of almost 60 cases of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) infection in the north west.
Latest figures from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) show that between November 5 to November 11, 2023, there were 58 notified cases of RSV in the HSE area of the north west, which includes Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo.
The HSE has been notified of a total of 454 cases of RSV across its eight HSE areas in the same time frame.
RSV is a highly contagious respiratory disease, which generally occurs between October and April, with cases peaking in December.
It is the main cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in very young children. Bronchiolitis may lead to breathing and feeding difficulties and can result in hospitalisation.
RSV can also be serious and life-threatening for older adults, individuals with weak immune systems, and children who are premature or have chronic heart and lung disease.
The age group with the highest number of RSV cases across all HSE areas were those aged 0 to four years (346).
Males made up the majority of those with RSV (241) across all HSE areas, while females accounted for 211.
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