New medication prepares babies for RSV season

RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) is a virus that causes cold symptoms. It is spread from person to person through saliva, mucous, or sneezing. RSV is the most common cause of babies needing to be in the hospital. It leads to hundreds of deaths each year in the US.

For most children, RSV looks like a cold. They may have fever, cough, runny nose, stuffiness, or poor feeding. But for children who are very sick, RSV can cause dehydration and problems breathing. It can even cause babies less than 2 months old to stop breathing.

Almost all children get RSV at least once in the first couple of years of life. Older children and adults often have mild symptoms and get better quickly. But young babies can get very sick from RSV. They often need to be seen in a clinic, urgent care, or Emergency Department.

There is no treatment for the RSV virus. But now we have a medication to prevent RSV from causing severe symptoms. Nirsevimab (Beyfortus) is a one-time shot that helps protect your child from getting very sick with RSV. Nirsevimab is a “monoclonal antibody.” This means that it has antibodies only for RSV. Once in the body, nirsevimab starts to work right away to attack any RSV virus. It may not stop an RSV infection completely, but it does lower the chance that a baby will get very sick from RSV. The protection from this shot can last through the whole RSV season. RSV season is October through March.

• Wash your hands before you hold or feed your baby
• Do not take your baby into crowds or large groups during the RSV season
• Keep people who are sick or with cold symptoms away from your baby
• Teach older children to cover their cough, wash their hands, and stay away from the baby if they are sick