What is the Coronavirus?
Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). The most recent strain of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 a.k.a. 2019 novel Coronavirus, which causes COVID-19) was not previously identified in humans prior to 2019. This page from the World Health Organization offers background information, current updates, news on variants, and helpful resources.
What is Respiratory Syncytial Virus or RSV?
Respiratory syncytial (sin-SISH-uhl) virus, or RSV, is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways in the lung) and pneumonia (infection of the lungs) in children younger than 1 year of age in the United States.
What is Influenza or the Flu?
Influenza (flu) is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat, and lungs. There are two main types of influenza (flu) viruses: types A and B. The influenza A and B viruses that routinely spread in people (human influenza viruses) are responsible for seasonal flu epidemics each year.
The New York State Department of Health
NYS Department of Health has prepared a fact sheet that compares the three viruses and is an excellent resource for anyone with questions about the three most common respiratory illnesses.
COVID-19 can cause severe infection in some people, including children, and can lead to hospitalization and even death. People who have received COVID-19 vaccines can still experience infections, although their risk of severe illness and hospitalization is greatly reduced.
COVID-19 spreads when an infected person breathes out droplets and very small particles that contain the virus. Other people can breathe in these droplets and particles, or these droplets and particles can land on their eyes, nose, or mouth. In some circumstances, these droplets may contaminate surfaces they touch. Anyone infected with COVID-19 can spread it, even if they do NOT have symptoms.
Possible symptoms include:
The CDC advises that if you have COVID-19 and are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19, treatments are available that can reduce your chances of being hospitalized or dying from the disease. Medications to treat COVID-19 must be prescribed by a healthcare provider and started as soon as possible after diagnosis to be effective. Contact a healthcare provider right away to determine if you are eligible for treatment, even if your symptoms are mild right now. People who are more likely to get very sick include older adults (ages 50 years or more, with risk increasing with age), people who are unvaccinated, and people with certain medical conditions, such as chronic lung disease, heart disease, or a weakened immune system.
Search county by county to see latest number of cases, total people tested to date, and trends, provided by the NYSDOH. Click on the image to see the live map.
NYS Department of Health: includes the latest announcements about the virus, contact information for the department, and other resources on the situation in the state.
CDC on COVID-19: The CDC’s up-to-date report about COVID-19. It describes what the virus is, how it is transferred, and shows where confirmed cases of the virus are appearing.
National Institutes of Health COVID-19: Resources and News Releases from the NIH, as well as other information related to the Coronavirus.
Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection (RSV) can cause severe infection in some people, including babies 12 months and younger, especially premature babies, seniors, people with heart and lung disease, or anyone with a weak immune system (immunocompromised). In adults and older, healthy children, RSV symptoms are mild and typically mimic the common cold. Self-care measures are usually all that’s needed to relieve any discomfort.
RSV can spread when:
How can you tell if you might have RSV? The symptoms usually appear in stages (not all at once) and include:
In very young infants, the only symptoms might be irritability, decreased activity, and breathing difficulties.
Treatment consists of primarily of managing symptoms. Researchers are working to develop vaccines and antivirals.
NYS Department of Health provides a detailed FAQ that addresses common questions about RSV.
CDC on RSV: This page on the CDC website includes information about surveillance of and research into RSV along with the burden our country faces from RSV and seasonal trends of RSV.
National Institutes of Health: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infects the lungs and breathing passages, and, in the United States, nearly all children have been infected with RSV by age two. In healthy people, symptoms of RSV infection are usually mild and resolve within a week. However, RSV can cause serious illness or death in vulnerable individuals, including premature and very young infants, children with chronic lung disease or congenital heart disease, and people who are over age 65.
Most people – including children – will recover on their own, but some people will experience severe illness requiring hospitalization. At times flu can lead to death. Flu vaccines are one of the best ways to reduce flu illnesses, hospitalizations and death from flu.
The CDC estimates the burden of flu on the United States every year. The impact goes beyond the total number of cases and hospitalizations that are counted because not all people who are infected with the flu require treatment. Estimates help to determine the length of the season and allows comparisons between each flu season.
People with flu can spread it to others. Most experts think that flu viruses spread mainly by droplets made when people with flu cough, sneeze, or talk. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby (usually within about 6 feet away) or possibly be inhaled into the lungs. Less often, a person might get flu by touching a surface or object that has flu virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes.
People who have flu usually have sudden onset of some or all of these symptoms:
*It’s important to note that not everyone with flu will have a fever.
The treatment for flu depends on your situation. Most people with flu have mild illness and do not need medical care or antiviral drugs. If you get sick with flu symptoms, in most cases, you should stay home and avoid contact with other people except to get medical care. If, however, you have symptoms of flu and are at increased risk for complications, are very sick or worried about your illness, contact your health care provider.
NYS Department of Health: includes information about flu activity, preventing the flu and where you can get a flu vaccine during the flu season.
CDC on the flu: The best way to reduce the risk of flu and its potentially serious complications is by getting vaccinated each year.
National Institutes of Health: Seasonal influenza, or flu, is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by any of several human influenza viruses that circulate globally and cause annual outbreaks of varying severity. Influenza viruses infect the nose, throat, and lungs and produce symptoms that include sudden fever, extreme fatigue, coughing, chills, and muscle aches. Serious complications include pneumonia.
In a situation of wide-reaching and fast-moving concern, rumors, misinformation and dis-information (sometimes from seemingly reliable sources) is inevitable. While it's always best to rely on information from authoritative sources such as the Center for Disease Control and the World Health Organization, here are some resource to help you sort out facts from "fake news".
