High rates of a common pediatric respiratory illness occurring mostly in the Northeast and South will be on the radar of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors today.

A motion authored by supervisors Kathryn Barger and Janice Hahn asks for more coordination among county health departments and education agencies to deliver a message to families, parents and caregivers about the risks of respiratory syncytial virus.

From Los Angeles to Orange County and the Inland Empire, doctors at local hospitals say they, too, are seeing an increase in the number of RSV cases.

The two supervisors’ motion seeks to prepare information to help families protect themselves against being infected and spreading the disease. Children before they reach age 2 often catch RSV, and symptoms are usually mild, such as a runny nose, cough and fever.

Nationwide, in children under 5, RSV leads to 58,000 hospitalizations and about 500 deaths yearly. For adults 65 or older, RSV causes 177,000 hospitalizations and about 14,000 deaths yearly.

If cases continue to spike in Los Angeles County, they could add to stress on the healthcare system as more people come down with flu, and possibly more COVID cases, during and after the holidays, putting pressure on hospitals and emergency rooms.

“There is concern about stress on our healthcare system with anticipated increases in COVID and influenza cases this fall while RSV is increasing,” read the motion by Barger and Hahn. The issue is item 10 on the Tuesday agenda.

The board meets at 9:30 a.m. for a hybrid meeting, which means the public can attend in person at Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, 500 W. Temple St., L.A. 90012. Or watch the meeting livestreamed. A person can also call into the meeting via telephone by dialing 877-226-8163 and entering the participant code 1336503.

To simply listen by telephone, dial 877-873-8017 and punch in access code 111111.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.