Toowoomba mum issues warning after son contracts RSV from daycare centre as cases spike

Chloe Siler’s son has rushed to hospital with a serious respiratory condition, and she’s issued a warning to other parents about how dangerous it can be.

Toowoomba infant Marcelo Pitt had to be hospitalised after contracting RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, from his brother who goes to daycare.

A Toowoomba mother who had to rush her infant son to hospital has warned parents about a highly contagious virus that is spreading through the city’s daycare centres.

Chloe Siler’s son Marcelo Pitt contracted respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) from his brother, who goes to a childcare centre in town.

While it is not an uncommon illness, childcare centres across Toowoomba have reportedly noticed a sharp rise in cases.

Early symptoms of RSV can make it seem like a common flu, with the patient having a runny nose, cough and fever.

But the coughing worsens after a day or two, until the child is wheezing or breathing rapidly, which could be a sign of bronchiolitis.

Ms Siler said her son had to be hydrated through tubes going through his nose.

“He was fine until Wednesday night, when he went to sleep — he was coughing a lot and it sound (like) a bark,” she said.

“We rushed him into emergency and they said they had RSV and bronchiolitis.

“ He was really dehydrated so they had to put him on the tube.

“The hospital was really good about it — they described it as a plague (in Toowoomba).”

Mothercraft Childcare Toowoomba manager Richel Booth said while it had not received any known RSV cases, it was aware of other centres reporting it.

She urged parents to take their children to their GP and keep them away from daycare centres until they were better.

“We generally ask for a clearance if we felt the child was still unwell — the responsibility of the parent is to keep the child at home,” Ms Booth said.

“If we get cases, we’ll clean down the whole rooms, and we use sanitiser and wash our hands.”

While Darling Downs Health does not keep track of RSV cases, public health unit director Dr Liam Flynn urged parents to look for symptoms and seek medical care if they were concerned.

“The main treatment for RSV is rest and plenty of fluids, but sometimes very young infants need treatment in hospital if they are having trouble breathing,” he said.

“If you need health advice please contact 13 HEALTH, talk to your doctor, or in an emergency present to our emergency departments.

“It is important to maintain regular handwashing and good personal hygiene to stop RSV from spreading.”