RSV and flu: US children's hospitals stretched by respiratory viruses - BBC

Hospitals in the US are taking emergency measures to respond to a spike in respiratory viruses among young children.

The US Department of Health has said more than three quarters of children's hospital beds were full in November, although experts say this is likely an underestimate.

Hospitals are "bursting at the seams", Daniel Rauch, the chief of Paediatric Hospital Medicine at Tufts Medicine in Massachusetts, told the BBC.

The Children's Hospital Association, which represents more than 220 hospitals across the country, said several were at "over 100% capacity".

In Oregon, one children's hospital has had to take emergency steps to allow more space for children in its intensive care unit.

Boston's Children's Hospital in Massachusetts said last month that it would delay elective surgeries due to the surge in respiratory viruses.

The Children's Hospital Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics have asked President Joe Biden to declare a national emergency to help remove some hurdles to expanding paediatric hospital capacity.

RSV is a respiratory illness that typically results in cold-like symptoms for adults, but can be dangerous for young children and those with underlying health conditions as well as older adults.