The HSE are seeing a significant rise in respiratory virus infections in children between 0 and 4, with the virus known to cause Bronchiolitis in young children.
While symptoms of bronchiolitis can be pretty mild, with a runny or blocked nose, mild fever and cough, it can cause serious breathing and feeding difficulties for babies and require hospitalisation. The HSE has sent all early learning and childcare service providers a set of guidelines in hopes to minimise the spread of winter viruses, and asked them to share these guidelines with parents.
Neither children nor staff should attend the service if they are unwell. While children usually might have a runny nose or a slight cough in winter, children with more significant symptoms or a combination of symptoms should stay at home until their symptoms are gone.
