What is Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and how does it affect babies?
Respiratory Syncytial Virus is the most common respiratory virus in infants and young children. It infects virtually all infants by the age of two years. In most infants, the virus causes symptoms resembling those of the common cold. In infants born prematurely and/or with chronic lung disease, RSV can cause a severe or even life-threatening disease. Each year, RSV disease results in over 125,000 hospitalizations, and about 2% of these infants die. Q: How is RSV transmitted? RSV is highly contagious. Each year, up to 50% of infants are infected. Transmission occurs by touching an infected person, and then rubbing your own eyes, nose, or mouth. The infection can also be spread through the air, by coughing and sneezing. RSV can survive for 4-7 hours on surfaces such as cribs and countertops. Transmission may be prevented by standard infection control practices, such as hand washing. Q: How often do ou.comreaks occur? RSV outbreaks occur each year on a fairly predictable schedule that var
