Following deaths of six babies, health officials raise alarm on respiratory illness, safe sleeping

That’s why public health officials on Tuesday sought to raise awareness about the symptoms of respiratory distress in infants and offer safe sleeping recommendations.

“These cases are tragic and heartbreaking, and as communities and families we can prevent these deaths from happening,” Erie County Health Commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein said. “Parents, grandparents, babysitters and occasional caregivers like older siblings or neighbors must have this information and be ready to act.”

Infants and young children are susceptible to respiratory pathogens, such as Respiratory Syncytial Virus or RSV, influenza and Covid-19, according to Dr. Geovanny F. Perez, chief of the Division of Pediatric Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine for UBMD Pediatrics and the Department of Pediatrics at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo.

However, Perez said, infants cannot verbally express when they are having trouble breathing.

“Many childhood respiratory illnesses are easily managed at home, but children’s health conditions can worsen quickly, without warning,” he said.

Dr. Fred Archer, interim chief of General Pediatrics and Medical Director of Oishei Children’s Hospital Primary Care clinics, said medical treatment is effective in preventing respiratory failure and death.

“Parents and anyone caring for a child should not hesitate to call their pediatrician or get their child to a hospital if they notice any signs of respiratory distress,” Dr. Archer said.

Some of the physical warning signs of respiratory distress may include flaring nostrils; obvious retraction of the rib cage with each breath; wheezing or noisy breathing; tightness of breath; or the lips or face turning blue.

The County Department of Health recommends updated vaccinations and frequent hand-washing for those caring for infants to…