INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Doctors at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital say they are seeing an increase in Respiratory Syncytial Virus in central Indiana.

“We’ve seen a big uptick in the past month or so of RSV cases in our ICU, similar to last year we had a big peak in October and November, this year it’s peaking a little bit later,” said Dr. Andy Beardsley, the Medical Director at the hospital’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Dr. Beardsley said like the COVID-19 virus, RSV can be spread through respiratory droplets. It affects adults and younger children, especially premature babies and children with asthma.

“One, their immune systems are less developed, and two, their airways are smaller, so the mucus production that’s caused by the virus can plug up their airways much easier,” said Beardsley.

Symptoms show as a cold, problems breathing or a fever, some of those can be treated at home, but if your child is breathing heavily you may need to get help.

“If they’re having a lot of trouble berating, we have a tool called chest cuirass, sometimes called a turtle shell,” Beardsley said. “It’s basically a plastic shell that sits on your chest and provides pressure to help the baby breathe.”

Although not technically a vaccine, there are antibodies that can be given to a newborn that can protect the baby from RSV.

“The good news about RSV is the vast majority of the time the kids will get better,” Beardsley said. “While it can be deadly, we think of that mostly in kids with high risk, prematurity, congenital heart disease things like that.”

Masking and washing your hands frequently are the best ways to prevent the spread of RSV.