This Is Who Actually Needs To Worry About RSV in the Coming Weeks
A woman blowing her nose.
As we enter cold and flu season, you're likely already hearing a lot about another contagious health issue that tends to make people nervous around this time of year: RSV.
RSV—or respiratory syncytial virus—is a common respiratory virus that, for many people, just causes relatively minor symptoms. But it can be dangerous for certain vulnerable people—particularly children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, up to 80,000 children under age five are hospitalized in the United States each year due to RSV. In addition, the American Lung Association says up to 120,000 older adults are hospitalized each year in the U.S. due to RSV, and up to 10,000 of those cases are fatal.
Related: 4 Doctors Share the #1 Thing They Always Buy at CVS at the Start of Cold, Flu and COVID Season
Potential Complications of RSV
While RSV is just a relatively minor nuisance for many infected people, it can be deadly in some cases.
“Though most people usually recover from RSV within about two weeks, the virus can cause serious illness and even death, especially among the very young (typically those six months and younger) and adults over the age of 60,” says Dr. Gemma Downham, MPH, CIC, FAPIC, epidemiologist and assistant vice president, Patient Safety and Infection Prevention, AtlantiCare. “That’s because it can attack the lungs, causing bronchiolitis, which is an inflammation of the small airways in the lungs. It can also cause pneumonia. Both of these illnesses can lead to severe trouble breathing.”
RSV Symptoms Can Be Terrifying
The severe (and sometimes life-threatening) symptoms of a serious RSV infection can be frightening, even to professionals experienced in treating those with the virus.
“Eight years ago, before the RSV vaccine was available, my daughter contracted RSV,” Dr. Downham recalls. “At just three months old, she became seriously ill and needed to be in the hospital. I felt helpless and frightened as I watched her struggle to breathe, not knowing if and when my husband and I would be able to bring her back home again with us and her sister. I was so much more accustomed to being the one working alongside my colleagues as we cared for our patients. This was the most terrifying experience I’ve ever had as a parent."
Related: Your Favorite Cold Medicine May Be Taken Off the Market—and the Reason Why May Shock You
Who Needs To Worry About RSV?
Now, the big question: Who actually needs to worry about RSV? The groups most vulnerable to serious problems from RSV are the same ones often identified as high-risk with other viruses or serious infections. “Adults over age 65, individuals with heart or lung disease, and those with compromised immune systems, including children under 12 months (especially those under six months) are at greatest risk for complications,” says Dr. Chelsea Azarcon, NMD, who has a doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University.
More Positive Outlooks for Those With RSV Than in the Past
Dr. Richard Lampe, an infectious disease pediatrician from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, has been a pediatrician for more than 50 years and says the treatments and prognosis for young patients infected with RSV have changed over the years. “Babies who had RSV back when we didn’t have ventilators [often] died—especially premature infants. Then we had ICUs, and I’ve seen ICUs have 14 patients in them, all who caught RSV and were premature, all on respirators, and some of them died.”
However, Dr. Lampe said, young infants up to six or eight months of age who aren’t premature can still experience bad coughing, wheezing and rapid breathing, and often end up in the hospital for fluids and oxygen.
While RSV remains a serious concern for babies (along with the elderly and those with compromised immune systems), Lampe said the outcomes are often much better now, thanks to the availability of immunizations and treatment options.
Related: Will We Need a Yearly COVID Booster, Just Like the Flu Shot? Immunologists Weigh In
RSV Vaccines and Antibody Treatment
There is good news on several fronts for those concerned about the potential danger of RSV. This spring, the Food & Drug Administration approved the first RSV vaccine, intended for people aged 60 and older. During the summer, the FDA also approved the first maternal RSV vaccine, designed to be administered between 32 and 36 weeks of pregnancy.
“If a mother is pregnant and they get this vaccine, it will result in an immune response in the mother,” Dr. Lampe says. “And that gets passed to the baby. So at birth, that baby has immunity for up to six months.”
There’s also a new treatment available for young babies. In July, the FDA approved a monoclonal antibody shot for infants, and the CDC recommends this immunization—which it calls “a powerful new tool to protect infants from the leading cause of hospitalization—for all babies up to eight months old.
Protecting Yourself and Others from RSV
Adults under 65 in generally good health are considered to be at low risk of serious RSV complications. However, as Dr. Azarcon points out, “It is important to remember that we are additionally facing risk from COVID-19 and influenza this season, as well.” If you get RSV in conjunction with COVID and/or the flu, your symptoms could be compounded or more severe.
Even those who aren’t eligible to receive the RSV vaccine should still follow basic precautionary guidelines to help prevent getting the virus or spreading it to those at higher risk, and if you are eligible, it's a good idea to get the shot.
“These are all the common sense things,” Dr. Lampe says. “If you're sick, don't go to school and don't go to work. Wash your hands a lot. There are different opinions about masks, but in the hospitals, we mask up when we go in and examine the children if we know they're positive with RSV, because we don't want to spread that to somebody else.”
Dr. Azarcon adds, “Your immune system is your strongest ally, so don’t neglect it during this time. Research tells us that managing stress, getting adequate sleep (at least seven hours), and eating a healthy diet rich in nutrients and low in sugar can help reduce [the] risk of viral illnesses like RSV, flu and COVID.”
Downham is grateful that parents like her now have more options to help prevent and treat RSV in young children. “Now that my daughter is in elementary school, as a mom and someone who works in healthcare, I’m relieved there is a vaccine aimed at sparing babies and families from the impact of RSV," she says. "Had the RSV vaccine been available when I was pregnant during respiratory virus season, I would definitely have gotten it during my last trimester to prevent my newborn child from becoming so ill with RSV. The vaccine is a huge stride for preventing the spread of this virus.”
Next up, find out how to boost your immune system with these 25 great foods that are rich in Vitamin C.
Sources:
Dr. Gemma Downham, MPH, CIC, FAPIC, epidemiologist and assistant vice president, Patient Safety and Infection Prevention, AtlantiCare
Dr. Chelsea Azarcon, NMD, who has a doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University
Dr. Richard Lampe, an infectious disease pediatrician from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
