Shanghai is experiencing a major outbreak of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a highly contagious pathogen that primarily affects young children and the elderly.
On Oct. 8, long queues formed at the emergency, pediatrics, and respiratory departments of Shanghai Children’s Hospital, where pediatric visits surged nearly 30 percent compared with late September.
Hospital staff said many patients were children under five, and entire families were testing positive. Some severe cases required ICU admission, with parents signing “critical condition” notices.
“Our emergency volume has effectively doubled compared to previous periods,” said Huang Yujuan, director of the hospital’s emergency department. “Most of our positive cases are RSV, and many involve family clusters — especially households with two children.”
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Emergency rooms at full capacity
By 10 a.m. on Oct. 8, the hospital’s pediatric and respiratory wings were packed.
Children clung to their parents while receiving nebulization or IV treatments, with nurses moving rapidly between crowded beds.
Doctors reported multiple family clusters, including one case where a five-year-old patient’s mother and grandmother also showed symptoms.
Experts warned that RSV spreads through droplets and close contact, and that any age group can become infected.
On Oct. 9, a viral post by TikTok user SongGe Guandian described chaotic scenes at Shanghai Children’s Hospital, where lines stretched into the corridors and parents waited past 3 a.m. with coughing, feverish children.
Some patients’ breathing rates reportedly spiked to 60 breaths per minute, triggering immediate ICU transfers.
“From a runny nose to ICU — it happened so fast!” one parent wrote online.
Another parent said their eight-month-old developed RSV-related pneumonia and was hospitalized in intensive care.
One case described a one-year-old who appeared to have a mild cold at first:
• By day five, the child began wheezing.
• By day seven, the coughing turned severe.
• By day nine, the child was diagnosed with critical pneumonia and moved to the ICU.
Parents expressed fear and frustration: “Don’t underestimate it! RSV is not a common cold.”
Medical experts emphasized that RSV can progress very quickly in infants and toddlers.
They advised families to maintain strict hygiene, avoid crowded places, and seek prompt medical care if symptoms worsen.
“RSV is the leading cause of lower respiratory infections in children under five,” said a Shanghai pediatrician. “Early recognition and timely treatment can save lives.”
RSV spreads beyond Shanghai
Parents from Zhejiang, Shaanxi, and Jiangsu have reported similar situations.
“Our entire family got infected — even the one-month-old baby,” one netizen wrote. “Tests showed RSV and bacterial co-infections.”
Another added:
“My child had a fever on the 2nd, was hospitalized on the 5th — I’d never heard of RSV before, and this time it really scared us.”
“Two days of coughing turned into pneumonia by day three,” another parent wrote. “It’s terrifying how fast it spreads.”
Meanwhile, China is also grappling with its largest recorded outbreak of chikungunya virus, a mosquito-borne illness.
Since July, cases have surged across multiple provinces.
As of Sept. 27, Guangdong Province reported 16,452 confirmed local infections, with the hardest-hit cities being Foshan and Jiangmen.
Local transmission has also been reported in Guangxi, Fujian, Hunan, and Shaanxi.
Despite two months of government-led disinfection campaigns, severe cases continue to appear — highlighting the country’s fragile disease-control capacity amid overlapping epidemics.
By Li Muzi, Janet Huang
