The Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario is canceling a small number of elective surgeries due to a jump in the volume of children appearing at the Emergency Room. Dr. Ken Farion, the Medical Director of the Emergency Department, said, that the hospital is reporting a higher-than-usual number of children, with symptoms of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).

"RSV is a frequent cause of illness in young children this time of year, and we typically see an increase of patients in emergency. Over the last few weeks, we saw our typical increase for RSV season", said, Dr. Farion.

In many children, RSV is no different than a common cold. The symptoms are coughing, noisy breathing and low-grade fever.

Farion is urging parents to manage minor illness or injury at home, or see their family doctor first, before coming to CHEO.

He explained that the delays in the ER are caused by the length of time it takes to treat children with RSV. CHEO has already reached the maximum number of patients it can admit. When beds are full, it can take longer to treat and discharge patients.

Fast or troubled breathing, fevers that lead children to not wake up or interact, fever over 38 degrees Celsius, diarrhea or vomiting leading to children with dry mouth and no urination or injuries in which a broken bone is suspected, are the conditions, where the child should be admitted.