Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common infection that affects the nose, throat and lungs.respiratory syncytial virus It is one of the leading causes of severe respiratory disease and hospitalization in infants, and it can cause serious complications for older children and adults. During the winter RSV season, which usually runs from November through March in the United States, about 50% of infants and young children will get infected with this virus and some may need to be hospitalized (1).
RSV is a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA virus that infects cells along the human respiratory tract.respiratory syncytial virus This viral infection can range from mild symptoms to serious diseases like pneumonia and bronchiolitis in infants, and it can lead to life-threatening lower respiratory disease in elderly people or those with underlying conditions (2).
You catch the virus by breathing in droplets of fluid from an infected person’s sneeze or cough. You can also get it from touching something with the virus on it and then touching your eyes, mouth or nose. The virus can live for several hours on hard surfaces, but not on soft ones such as tissues or hands. You can also be exposed to RSV at daycare or school.
In general, adults and older kids have mild cold-like symptoms when infected with RSV. Babies and young children who are very young or preterm are at higher risk for having more severe symptoms and problems with the virus.
When RSV goes into the lungs, it can cause inflammation of the smallest airways in the lungs (bronchiolitis). This can make your child have difficulty breathing and may need medicine to help with it (3). It can also cause a middle ear infection (otitis media). In some cases, it can increase your child’s chance of developing asthma later in life (4).
Severe RSV infections can also cause other health problems, including a headache, rash, a sore throat and eye redness or discharge. There is a vaccine that protects against RSV. It is called nirsevimab (Beyfortus). It’s given in a shot form and it’s used for babies 8 months old or younger who are entering their first RSV season. It’s also being studied in people with certain medical conditions who are at higher risk of having severe RSV symptoms (5).
There are also medications to treat severe RSV illnesses in children and adults. These include acetaminophen to relieve cold-like symptoms and fever, and antiviral medications to treat the infection in the lungs. However, these medicines are not available in low and middle-income countries where they’re needed most, and they often have high costs. This makes them out of reach for many families, especially when other health priorities are competing with their use (6). The RSV vaccine and antiviral medicines are important to help prevent serious lung disease and death in infants, children and the elderly. CDC and partners are working to ensure that these life-saving products are available where they’re needed most (7).