Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)

A common respiratory virus that infects nearly all children by age 2; it can cause severe lower-respiratory illness in infants, older adults and people with chronic heart or lung disease.

How it spreads

Droplets and contact with contaminated hands or surfaces; seasonal in autumn and winter in temperate regions.

Common symptoms

Runny nose, cough, fever, reduced appetite; infants may develop wheezing, fast breathing and feeding difficulty (bronchiolitis).

When to seek care

Fast or laboured breathing, chest indrawing, bluish lips, pauses in breathing, markedly fewer wet nappies or refusal to feed in infants — seek urgent care.

Prevention & treatment

Hand hygiene and keeping ill people away from infants; some countries offer long-acting monoclonal antibodies for infants, maternal vaccination and RSV vaccines for older adults — eligibility follows local policy.

Unknowns & ongoing research

Access to new preventive tools in low-income countries and the duration of protection from older-adult vaccines are still being evaluated.

Related WHO notices

WHO Disease Outbreak News · Last successful update on this site: 2026-11-12 01:10 UTC

No WHO notices retrieved yet (the scheduled update has not run or the source is temporarily unreachable).

Official sources & interactive data