Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a respiratory virus that causes cold-like symptoms, has been increasingly more common this year.
Infants and older adults are more at risk of developing severe symptoms and needing hospitalization, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.
There is a vaccine available to those aged 60 or older and pregnant women to protect their infant after birth. There is also a drug that provides antibodies to newborns.
Watch: High demand for new RSV drug for infants outpaces supply
For those not in the at-risk groups, IU Chief Health Officer Aaron Carroll said to take precautions, such as washing your hands often.
“For everybody else, meaning if you’re not an infant or toddler, you’re not elderly or you’re not pregnant, it’s really just prevention,” Carroll said. “It’s stay at home when you’re sick, it’s good hand-washing, especially before you eat.”
If you have RSV and are not at high-risk, you should just nurse it like a normal cold, Carroll said.
