Parents are advised to watch out for a potentially-fatal winter baby infection.
The British Lung Foundation said that with the beginning of November, the RSV season is well and truly upon us.
RSV - respiratory syncytial virus - affects most children by the age of two. For the majority of those children, it causes no more than a cold, but for others it can be more serious.
9 out of 10 parents in a sample of 500 surveyed were, however, unaware of the symptoms and dangers.
Chest infections due to RSV are the most common cause of hospital admissions for young children, with about 20,000 children under the age of one being admitted each year. But the poll showed that only one in 10 parents were aware of this with half believing falsely that meningitis was the biggest risk.
RSV affects nearly all children at some point in their early years so parents need to be aware of the symptoms and to know when they should seek medical attention. In the most serious RSV cases, children can develop bronchitis or pneumonia and - albeit very rarely - die. Babies born prematurely or those with heart defects are particularly at risk.
Professor Warren Lenney, of the British Lung Foundation, said: "RSV affects nearly all children at some point in their early years so parents need to be aware of the symptoms and to know when they should seek medical attention."
Symptoms of the condition usually first appear in the form of the common cold - mild fever, runny nose, , sore throat, mild cough, blocked nose and ear infection.
After three to five days symptoms may worsen as the virus spreads to the lungs, causing breathlessness, rapid breathing, wheezing and a strong cough.
October 2008 | 
Baby Virus Warning
