General Information about RSV

RSV is a common respiratory virus. Almost all children will get infected with RSV by the time they are 2 years of age. Each year in the United States, RSV leads to 2.1 million doctor visits in children younger than 5 years of age. However, RSV affects people of all ages.

•  Symptoms may appear 4 to 6 days after being exposed to the virus. Symptoms of RSV infection usually appear in stages and include:
  • Runny nose
  • Low appetite
  • Coughing
  • Sneezing
  • Fever
  • Wheezing

Cases of RSV can range from mild to severe. Most people will have mild symptoms. However, some people are at higher risk of getting very sick from RSV. Visit the CDC website for more information about symptoms.

People infected with RSV are usually contagious for 3 to 8 days. However, some infants, and people with weakened immune systems, can continue to spread the virus even after they stop showing symptoms, for as long as 4 weeks.

You can get RSV more than once. Reinfection is common, and healthy adults are infected with RSV repeatedly throughout their lives.