RSV Illness in the Young and the Old — The Beginning of the End?

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection was reported 66 years ago among young children with lower respiratory tract illness who were hospitalized in Baltimore.1 RSV infection has since emerged as the most frequent cause of hospitalization among infants in the United States and as the leading cause of pneumonia in young children worldwide. Among children younger than 5 years of age, RSV is associated with approximately 33 million cases of lower respiratory tract illness, 3.6 million hospital admissions, and more than 100,000 deaths each year.2 Infants younger than 6 months of age are at greatest risk for RSV-associated illness and death, . . .