What is respiratory syncytial virus?

Also known as: RSV, HRSV.

RSV is a group of medium sized RNA viruses each containing many nuclei which frequently infects the respiratory tract (breathing passages and lungs) of young (< 2-3 years of age) children. Children (and adults) can have an a RSV infection many times because of the many kinds of RSV‘s.

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Reviewed by: Jack Wolfsdorf, MD, FAAP

This page was last updated on: 1/29/2019 3:21:13 PM