Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a virus that can cause severe problems, especially for young children and older adults, has increased illness and hospitalizations.
"We're seeing relatively high rates of infection occur earlier in the fall than usual," says Dr. Nipunie Rajapakse, a pediatric infectious diseases physician with the Mayo Clinic Children's Center. "Typically, we don't see a lot of circulation of this virus until November. But this year, we are seeing much more than we generally see."
It's a prevalent virus that mostly causes mild, cold-like symptoms. Most children will be infected with the virus by age 2. But for some children, it can be severe.
