![]() Click here for an accessible text version of this infographic RSV is a virus that can cause serious respiratory infections (infections of the lungs and airways), such as pneumonia and bronchiolitis (inflammation of the airways). RSV infection occurs throughout life. In temperate countries like the UK, RSV occurs in epidemics each winter. In infants, RSV is the main cause of bronchiolitis. Most cases of bronchiolitis are mild and can be managed at home, but about 3% of cases will need hospital care. Worldwide, RSV is the second largest cause of death in children under one year of age (second only to malaria). In 2017 the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that RSV causes around 33 million serious respiratory infections a year. This results in more than 3 million hospitalisations and nearly 60,000 deaths in children under 5 years of age every year. Nearly half of these hospitalisations and deaths are in children under 6 months of age. In the winter months, bronchiolitis is responsible for around 1 in 6 of all UK paediatric admissions (hospital admissions of babies and children). It is estimated that over 30,000 babies and children under 5 are hospitalised every year in the UK because of RSV (see this research from Public Health England In healthy adults RSV causes symptoms similar to those of a common cold. However, it can develop into severe disease in adults with a weakened immune system (such as bone marrow transplants) and in elderly people. |