Every year, respiratory viruses such as influenza (flu), COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cause hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations and thousands of deaths during the fall and winter virus season.
Symptoms:
Respiratory viruses may cause both upper respiratory tract symptoms (the vocal chords and above) and lower respiratory tract symptoms (below the vocal chords). Some viruses also affect the nose, throat and lungs, and can lead to serious lung infections, such as pneumonia.
Examples of respiratory virus symptoms:
- Fever
- Chills
- Fatigue (tiredness)
- Cough
- Runny or stuffy nose
- Decrease in appetite
- Sore throat
- Vomiting
- New loss of taste or smell
- Headache, muscle or body aches
- Diarrhea
- Weakness
When to seek emergency care:
If you have an emergency warning sign (like trouble breathing or chest pain), seek emergency medical care immediately.
Groups of people at a higher risk for respiratory illnesses:
Older adults whose immune systems tend to not work as well and are more likely to have underlying health conditions.
Young children have immune systems that are still developing and small airways.
People with weakened immune systems can have lower defenses against infections and their bodies may have a harder time building lasting protection from immunization or prior infection.
People with disabilities are more likely to have underlying medical conditions, live in congregate settings, or experience factors and conditions stemming from social determinants of health that increase their risk for poor outcomes from respiratory infections.
Pregnant and recently pregnant people because pregnancy can cause changes in the immune system, heart, and lungs that make people more likely to get very sick from respiratory viruses.
Additional prevention strategies you can choose to further protect yourself and others include:
- Masks – Wearing a mask can help lower the risk of respiratory virus transmission. When worn by a person with an infection, masks reduce the spread of the virus to others. Masks can also protect wearers from breathing in infectious particles from people around them.
- Physical distancing – Putting physical distance between yourself and others can help lower the risk of spreading a respiratory virus. There is no single number that defines a “safe” distance, since spread of viruses can depend on many factors.
- Tests – Testing for respiratory viruses can help you decide what to do next, like getting treatment to reduce your risk of severe illness and taking steps to lower your chances of spreading a virus to others.
