William Schaffner, MD: "If It's Not Flu and It's Not COVID, It's Probably RSV"

William Schaffner, MD, medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, replied "Ah, it will be challenging!"

The question, posed during an interview with Patient Care^©, was "How are you and your infectious disease colleagues feeling about this upcoming respiratory virus season...and, if you have concerns, what are they?"

Schaffner details his concerns in the video that follows including the challenge of differentiating among the 3 key cocirculating respiratory viruses, COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncitial virus (RSV).

RSV in adults has traveled under the clinical suspicion radar, he points out, but research demonstrates it can produce a level of respiratory illness comparable to influenza. Schaffner says there are vaccines and therapeutics in the research pipeline that are nearing submission to the FDA and explains why it so important to learn to tease out this diagnosis.

William Schaffner, MD, is medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, professor of preventive medicine in the Department of Health Policy and a professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, TN.