“We are seeing a spike in respiratory illnesses, especially RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) and parainfluenza, which cause croup and bronchiolitis in young children and flu-like symptoms in older children and adults,” said James Antoon, MD, PhD, FAAP, assistant professor of Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

Understanding how RSV is transmitted, which strains dominate and how new strains emerge around the globe will guide better vaccine and anti-viral drug design.

Newly discovered features in an RSV protein may be useful for rational structure-based vaccine design.

RSV infection reduces the risk of infection with human rhinovirus, which could have implications for vaccine development and prevention strategies for viral respiratory tract infections in infants.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the major cause of life-threatening viral pneumonia in infants worldwide, yet despite repeated efforts, scientists have been unable to develop an effective vaccine against it.

An important predictor of the severity of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants may be what their mothers ate during pregnancy.