Are you coughing? Do you have RSV? It’s the season in Florida for spread and symptoms
.jpg "Washing your hands frequently can help reduce your chances of getting sick with COVID, flu, RSV or another respiratory illness.")
Do you have a cough?
Maybe it’s COVID? Perhaps it’s another respiratory illness.
Some parts of Florida are in RSV season, after all.
Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, is a common virus that causes cold-like symptoms such as coughing and fever. While most RSV infections are mild, some babies, young children and older adults can get severely ill, particularly those born premature or who have weaker immune systems or a medical condition such as asthma and chronic lung disease.
Florida’s RSV season usually lasts longer than the rest of the country and varies by region, though in South Florida, the virus tends to circulate year-round. Central Florida’s RSV season starts now in August as kids are getting ready for the new school year.
“In South Florida, you’re going to have waves. We just don’t know exactly when it’s going to happen, until it does,” Dr. Rodney Baker, the executive medical director of hospital operations at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital near South Miami, previously told the Miami Herald. “But you know, we’re always prepared.”
How does RSV spread and how do you treat it?
Here’s what to know:
How does RSV spread?
The way RSV spreads is similar to other viruses — by an infected person coughing or sneezing, touching a contaminated surface like a doorknob and then touching your face, or by direct contact such as kissing a child with RSV, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s a common childhood virus, with most kids having an infection by age 2.
Ways to reduce the spread of RSV may also sound familiar: frequent hand-washing, avoiding close contact with sick people, cleaning frequently touched surfaces.
How do you treat RSV infections?
Because RSV symptoms are similar to those of other viruses, parents won’t know their children are infected with RSV unless they get tested. Parents should treat it like a cold, ensuring children stay hydrated and give them acetaminophen or ibuprofen, as needed, to help with fever or other symptoms, experts say.
Is there an RSV vaccine?
RSV vaccines are available for people who are pregnant or are at least 60, though unlike flu and COVID vaccines, it’s not an annual shot. RSV monoclonal antibodies also exist for babies and young children.
The CDC recommends everyone 75 and older get an RSV vaccine. The public health agency also recommends vaccination for people 60 and older who either have chronic medical conditions such as heart or lung disease that makes them more at risk for severe illness, live at a nursing home or at another long-term care facility.
For kids, while most RSV infections are mild, some babies and young children who are born premature, have a weaker immune system or another medical condition might be more at risk for severe illness, according to the CDC.
That’s why the CDC says it recommends maternal RSV vaccination during pregnancy or giving babies RSV monoclonal antibodies. “Most infants will not need both,” the agency said.
Here are CDC recommendations:
▪ One dose of the maternal RSV vaccine given during weeks 32 through 36 of pregnancy.
▪ One dose of monoclonal antibody nirsevimab for all infants age 8 months and younger who are born during or entering their first RSV season. This can also be given to kids ages 8-19 months who are entering their second RSV season and are considered to have an “increased risk” for severe disease.
▪ Another monoclonal antibody, palivizumab, is for children up to 24 months who have certain medical conditions that make them “high risk” for severe RSV disease. This treatment must be given once a month during RSV season.
Speak with your doctor if you have any questions.
When is Florida’s RSV season?
The Florida Department of Health says the state’s RSV season varies by region. Take a look:
▪ Southeast Florida’s RSV season is usually year-round. This includes Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties.
▪ Central Florida’s RSV season is August-March.
▪ Southwest Florida’s RSV season is September-April.
▪ Northwest Florida’s RSV season is October-April.
▪ North Florida’s RSV season is September-March.
