Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a dangerous illness that most children under the age of two experience in their childhood. For some kids, it just seems like a bad cold, but for others, it can cause a host of breathing problems and lung infections.  

Ethan Wiener, MD, associate chief of the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine in the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Emergency Medicine, spoke with The New York Times about the potential dangers of RSV. “In otherwise healthy patients, RSV can usually be treated at home. Children who have been infected with the virus produce antibodies that help reduce its severity if they become re-infected.” Dr. Wiener adds. “But RSV can turn into acute lower respiratory infections such as bronchiolitis, a viral respiratory illness that is the most common cause of hospitalization in infants.”

Read more from The New York Times.