RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Following a surge in RSV cases last year, a new treatment hopes to prevent cases in Central Virginia.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, is a “common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms.” Most people recover within one to two weeks, but RSV can be more serious, especially for infants and older adults.

Between 1% and 3% of children under the age of one are hospitalized because of RSV, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

This week, the Federal Drug Administration announced the approval of an RSV prevention drug called Beyfortus (nirsevimab-alip). The drug is proven to prevent RSV in infants.

A spokesperson from VCU Children’s Hospital said in November that they saw a 30% increase in RSV cases. Hospitals across the Commonwealth saw similar causing some to reach capacity.

8News previously spoke with Rumour Blackman, the mother of 1-year-old Reina Duque after she drove over two hours to VCU Children’s Hospital for Reina to receive treatment. This was because one nearby hospital did not have the proper equipment to treat her and the other hospital was at capacity.

Blackman’s family was one of many who dealt with severe cases of the virus during a time where Covid-19 and flu cases were also increasing.

According to the FDA, this announcement, “addresses the great need for products to help reduce the impact of RSV disease on children, families and the health care system,” said John Farley, director of the Office of Infectious Diseases in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

Julian Walker with the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association said that it is currently too soon to know how this new treatment will impact this years’ RSV season.

“It’s so new and just approved. I think, you know, we will see as people begin to avail themselves of this treatment option, you know, there will be more data gathered and that will, I think, lead to more insights about its effectiveness,” said Walker. 

Walker recommended parents and guardians to do the necessary research before receiving treatment.

“It remains to be seen, you know, what the uptake rates are going to be, how widespread its use will be,” Walker said. “But certainly, that is something that we would say to any any patient, any health care consumer. The same thing that we always say, which is that we encourage people to be educated.”