Global Burden of RSV Profiled in Children Aged 0 to 60 Months in 2019

MONDAY, May 23, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection contributes to substantial morbidity and mortality worldwide in children aged 0 to 60 months, according to a study published online May 19 in The Lancet.

You Li, Ph.D., from Nanjing Medical University in China, and colleagues conducted a systematic analysis to update RSV-associated acute lower respiratory infection morbidity and mortality among children aged 0 to 60 months for 2019. Overall, 113 new eligible studies and unpublished data from 51 studies were added to the 317 studies included in the previous review.

The researchers estimated that in children aged 0 to 60 months, globally in 2019, there were 33.0 million RSV-associated acute lower respiratory infection episodes, 3.6 million RSV-associated acute lower respiratory infection hospital admissions, 26,300 RSV-associated acute lower respiratory infection in-hospital deaths, and 101,400 RSV-attributable overall deaths. An estimated 6.6 million RSV-associated acute lower respiratory infection episodes, 1.4 million RSV-associated acute lower respiratory infection hospital admissions, 13,300 RSV-associated acute lower respiratory infection in-hospital deaths, and 45,700 RSV-attributable overall deaths were estimated in infants aged 0 to 6 months. Overall, 2.0 and 3.6 percent of deaths in children aged 0 to 60 months and aged 28 days to 6 months, respectively, were attributable to RSV. Across all age bands, more than 95 percent of RSV-associated acute lower respiratory infection episodes and more than 97 percent of RSV-attributable deaths were in low-income and middle-income countries.

"Our estimates could serve as a reference for understanding RSV epidemiology in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

Abstract/Full Text

Editorial (subscription or payment may be required)