Increased Interseasonal Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Activity in Parts of the Southern United States

Explanation

The CDC was sending out this information to advise of increased interseasonal respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity in parts of the southern U.S. The CDC says it is encouraging more extensive testing for RSV in patients who are negative for SARS-CoV-2 but who present with acute respiratory illness.

RSV is a concern for young children and the elderly, and it is important to pay attention to future trends. Medical professionals can also consider whether to continue working in the event of acute illness, even if they test negative for SARS-CoV-2.

What is RSV?

RSV is an RNA virus of the genus Orthopneumovirus, family Pneumoviridae, which is spread via respiratory droplets and is the most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in children under one year of age.

Therefore, infants, young children, and the elderly with chronic diseases are at risk of developing severe symptoms due to these infections and should be treated with caution. In the U.S., RSV infections occur mainly in the fall and winter cold and flu seasons, but reports of RSV infections decreased in April 2020. This is believed to be due to COVID-19 measures, and the number of cases remained relatively low from May 2020 to March 2021.

The fact that there were fewer RSV infections between 2020 and 2021 means that they were not exposed at previous levels, which raises concerns about the risk of associated serious diseases in the future.

In infants younger than 6 months, symptoms of irritability, anorexia, malaise, fever, and apnea, and in older infants and toddlers, rhinorrhea, loss of appetite, sneezing, fever, and wheezing 1-3 days before coughing have been reported.

In adults, rhinorrhea, pharyngitis, cough, headache, malaise, and fever are consistent with symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection.