The outbreak of the potentially deadly respiratory virus RSV appears to have peaked nationally, but the worst could still be to come for the South. Southern hospitals were monitoring the situation around Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), an illness that has swept much of New Zealand. Dr Millar said today children’s units in both Dunedin and Southland Hospitals were well staffed for the number of patients and their condition. There was a small number of adult patients at Southland Hospital and a small number of respiratory patients in Lakes District Hospital’s emergency department. Prof Graham Le Gros, of the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research, said the fact some hospital wards and emergency departments had been overwhelmed by respiratory illness cases was a wake-up call.

Source: Otago Daily Times July 16, 2021 04:51 UTC