Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is a common, and very contagious, virus that infects the respiratory tract of most children before their second birthday.

For most babies and young children, the infection causes nothing more than a cold. But for a small percentage, infection with RSV can lead to serious problems such as bronchiolitis, which is inflammation of the small airways of the lungs, or pneumonia, which can become life-threatening.

Preventions:

There are some steps you can take to try to avoid and prevent RSV:

1. Wash your hands often, especially after contact with anyone who has cold symptoms.
2. Clean and disinfect hard surfaces.
3. Only let people touch your baby after they wash their hands.
4. Avoid kissing your baby if you have cold symptoms.
5. Keep your baby away from crowds.
6. Don’t let anyone smoke around your baby.
7. Limit the time high-risk babies and young children stay in day care, particularly from late fall to early spring when RSV is most common.
8. If possible, keep your baby away from anyone, including older brothers or sisters, who has cold symptoms.