Dec 10, 2022

SC Health Dept.: Older adults, infants, young children at high risk for RSV

Posted Dec 10, 2022 5:53 PM

Saline County Health Department

Respiratory Syncytial Virus, more often referred to simply as RSV, is a common virus that affects the lungs and breathing passages. RSV may not be severe when it first starts but can progress quickly.

Each year, an estimated 60,000 to 120,000 adults aged 65 and older and 58,000 to 80,000 children younger than five are hospitalized due to an RSV infection.

The current year has been particularly difficult for RSV across the nation and here in the Salina area. The combination of higher than normal cases of influenza and RSV coupled with the ongoing spread of COVID-19 is causing concern that a"tripledemic" is poised to overwhelm a healthcare system that is still not fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Learn more about RSV in infants and Children (pdf)

Learn more about RSV in older adults (pdf)