Public Health Wales is encouraging parents to be aware of the signs of respiratory illnesses in young children, as data shows cases are rising sharply.

Public Health Wales surveillance shows positive samples for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) infection in Wales have increased over the last four consecutive weeks from 1.9 per cent to 9.9 per cent.

Parents are being encouraged to look out for symptoms of severe infection in at-risk children, including a high temperature of 37.8°C or above (fever), a dry and persistent cough, difficulty feeding, rapid or noisy breathing (wheezing).

Respiratory infections in young children have begun to rise out-of-season, following low infection levels in response to COVID-19 restrictions and good infection control measures that have been in place.