Respiratory Syncytial Virus, or RSV, is a common virus that affects the lungs and breathing passages and may include the following symptoms:
- Mild cold-like symptoms
- Runny nose
- Sore throat
- Cough
- Headache
Respiratory Syncytial Virus, or RSV, is a common virus that affects the lungs and breathing passages and may include the following symptoms:
RSV infections can be dangerous for certain adults. Adults at highest risk for severe RSV infection include:
Older adults who get an RSV infection will typically have mild cold-like symptoms but sometimes RSV can lead to serious conditions such as pneumonia, increased symptoms for those with asthma, more severe symptoms for people with COPD (a chronic disease of the lungs that makes it hard to breathe) or congestive heart failure. Older adults who get very sick from RSV may need to be hospitalized. Each year an estimated 177,000 older adults are hospitalized and 14,000 die in the United States from RSV infection.
The best way to TREAT RSV is to PREVENT RSV infection and scientists are working on several new vaccines for this indication, including a current vaccine Summit Headlands is studying, We are hopeful that a vaccine given preventively to healthy older adults combined with good safety practices (washing hands often, keeping hands away from the face, avoiding close contact with sick people, covering coughs and sneezes and cleaning and disinfecting surfaces) will greatly reduce the chances of contracting this illness.