The sniffles, coughing and sneezing echoing throughout classrooms and offices make it clear the cold and flu season is in full swing. Doctors have noticed one illness in particular, respiratory syncytial virus, has been spreading faster and causing more hospitalizations for children than usual. “In the 35 years I’ve been doing this, I don’t know that I have ever seen RSV come on so strong so early in the season,” Dr. Dan McGee, a pediatric hospitalist at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan, told TODAY. “Not to make people panic, but this year seems to be particularly bad.”