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Cases of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), a common cold virus that can be associated with severe disease in young children as well as older adults, are now rising in 32 states, including New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
The non-COVID-19 related virus, common among children, is now appearing earlier in the season and more frequently.
Connecticut has been especially affected, seeing an unprecedented number of children infected by the illness.
Dr. Juan Salazar, executive vice president and physician-in-chief at Connecticut Children’s, told CNN beds are filled to capacity and children are coming to the hospital at an “unprecedented” level.
RSV usually leads to mild, cold-like symptoms with no vaccine available, but infants and older adults could develop severe pneumonia-like symptoms.
Most people recover in a week or two, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but RSV can be serious, especially for infants and older adults.
"RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways in the lung) and pneumonia (infection of the lungs) in children younger than 1 year of age in the United States," the CDC said.
People infected with RSV usually show symptoms within four to six days after getting infected.
Symptoms of RSV infection usually include
- Runny nose
- Decrease in appetite
- Coughing
- Sneezing
- Fever
- Wheezing
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