A preventive treatment for lower respiratory tract infections caused by RSV got the go ahead from the European Commission on Friday, according to one of the companies that make it.

The treatment is the first of its kind to protect all infants in their first year of life.

RSV hospitalizations were significantly higher than normal again last week amid a respiratory virus season that’s hitting the United States earlier and harder than usual, according to new data published Thursday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But this summer, RSV cases are spiking, particularly in southern states. Around 2,000 confirmed cases were recorded across the U.S. during the week of July 10, 2021, compared to less than a dozen during the week of July 25, 2020.

An outbreak of respiratory syncytial virus, combined with growing Covid-19 pediatric cases, is straining hospital resources in some U.S. cities.

Along with other respiratory infections, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was heavily suppressed during its regular season due to lockdown measures implemented during the ongoing pandemic.

Viruses typically seen in the winter, including respiratory syncytial virus and croup, are surging among children at the height of summer.

Connecticut is seeing an unseasonable, “offseason” spike in a virus known to cause 10,000 deaths annually, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This time of year, it’s typically playground injuries and a few broken bones that keep doctors busy inside Lurie Children’s Hospital.

But the pace is picking up for a different reason.

Some hospitals in Southern states are reporting a rise in infant hospitalizations due to respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.

The recent emergence of a virus that typically sickens children in colder months has baffled U.S. pediatricians and put many infants in the hospital with troublesome coughs and breathing trouble.