RSV is a common virus spread through close contact that usually causes mild flu-like symptoms in children, but can lead to serious illness in older adults.

Universiti Malaya’s consultant geriatrician and professor in geriatric medicine Dr Tan Maw Pin said RSV especially affects those aged 60 and above, or those with existing health problems.

“The easiest way to communicate with someone is if they tell you they’ve just had a grandchild. You tell them they could either catch this from their grandchild or, even worse, pass it on to their grandchild.

“That really, really changes their minds. RSV is no joke for older adults,” she said in a forum held at the launch of Pfizer Malaysia’s “For the Reasons That Matter” campaign, a four-country public awareness initiative on adult respiratory health in conjunction with World Immunisation Week 2026.

Tan said the virus can lead to hospitalisation as it increases the risk of heart attacks, strokes and other complications. It can also leave older people weaker after recovery, including through sarcopenia, or muscle loss.

Filipino cardiologist Dr Anthony Cueto Leachon said the effect that lung infections such as pneumonia, flu and RSV have on the heart could not be overlooked.

“The lungs and heart are interrelated. You cannot treat respiratory health as something separate,” he said, adding that people with stabilised heart conditions could be hospitalised after serious lung infections.

While Tan and Leachon did not outline specific prevention steps, they said there is a need for earlier conversations with doctors and better awareness among older adults and those with existing health conditions.