Health Services

• DUPAGE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT IMMUNIZATION INFORMATION

• ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH IMMUNIZATION INFORMATION

• CDC RECOMMENDED VACCINATION SCHEDULE

What is Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)?

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is a highly contagious respiratory virus that can infect people of all ages. This common virus typically causes mild symptoms like those of the common cold. Most people will have contracted RSV by the time they are two years old. Severe RSV infection can be unpredictable, causing an estimated 58,000 hospitalizations each year in children younger than five, and making it the leading cause of hospitalization in all infants under 12 months of age.

For more information visit https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/rsv/learn-about-rsv

What Are the Symptoms of RSV?

Initial signs of RSV are similar to mild cold symptoms, including congestion, runny nose, fever, cough and sore throat. Very young infants may be irritable, fatigued and have breathing difficulties. Normally these symptoms will clear up on their own in a few days.

A barking or wheezing cough can be one of the first signs of a more serious illness. In these instances, the virus has spread to the lower respiratory tract, causing inflammation of the small airways entering the lungs. This can lead to pneumonia or bronchiolitis.

For more information visit, https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/rsv/symptoms-diagnosis

How Can I Help Prevent RSV?

If you have cold-like symptoms you should:

• Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue or your upper shirt sleeve, not your hands
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
• Avoid close contact, such as kissing, shaking hands, and sharing cups and eating utensils, with others
• Clean frequently touched surfaces such as doorknobs and mobile devices

What Should High Risk Adults and Children Do to Prevent RSV?

Parents and grandparents of children at high risk for developing severe Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) disease should help their child, when possible, do the following

• Avoid close contact with sick people
• Wash their hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
• Avoid touching their face with unwashed hands

Limit the time they spend in child-care centers or other potentially contagious settings, especially during fall, winter, and spring. This may help prevent infection and spread of the virus during the RSV season.

For more information visit,https://www.cdc.gov/rsv/index.html