RSV Outbreaks are Global Concerns

According to recent news from the World Health Organization (WHO), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) outbreaks were found in a few countries in the Region of the Americas.

The WHO's Influenza Update N° 449, published on July 7, 2023, RSV activity was increasing in a few temperate South American countries. 

Separately, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently offered insights into when the U.S. could expect RSV to be detected in 2023.

The CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report presented the seasonality of RSV in the U.S. from 2017–2023. The most recent RSV season onset occurred in June and peaked in November.

Across both prepandemic and pandemic years, RSV circulation in the U.S. began in Florida, then in the southeast, and later in the north and west regions. 

The CDC says Florida's RSV season is longer than the rest of the U.S.

For this reason, the Florida Department of Health segmented reports into five RSV regions, each with its own RSV season. As of July 22, 2023, there were no RSV outbreaks in Florida.

From a prevention perspective, the U.S. FDA recently approved RSV vaccines and a second monoclonal antibody therapy for children.