If you have a sick child, you're not alone.

Oishei Children's Hospital is seeing a spike in respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, cases.

Now they're trying to inform parents about what they need to look out for and how they can protect their children.

Oishei's chief medical officer, Stephen Turkovich, says at this time of the year, they typically see upwards of 60 to 70 kids with RSV symptoms admitted to their hospital. But this year, that number is at 200 and counting.

RSV is a common and contagious virus that infects a child's respiratory tract. It's the most common cause of pneumonia for babies younger than a year.

Oishei says most of the kids admitted to them are younger than a year old.

The highest risk are to those younger than 6 months, premature babies, kids younger than 2 who have chronic lung and heart disease, and anyone with a compromised immune system.

If you have RSV, it usually starts out as a cold and then develops into breathing issues.

To avoid catching the virus, you should wash your hands, disinfect surfaces as much as possible, and avoid being around others who are sick.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says RSV leads to more than 57,000 hospitalizations among children younger than 5 years old in the U.S.

"If you notice that they're breathing fast, if you notice that they're having difficulty breathing, if their ribs look like they're getting sucked in like they're using their extra muscles to help them breathe, those are indications that you should come to the hospital immediately,” said Turkovich.