Infection and Immunity

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of lower respiratory tract infections in young children worldwide.

In the Netherlands, RSV epidemics occur annually in wintertime, peaking in November-January. However, RSV was virtually absent in the winter of 2020/2021 due to the implementation of public health measures to control the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the beginning of June 2021, RSV started to circulate in Rotterdam, spreading out to the rest of the country in the following weeks. This initial decrease of pediatric RSV infections followed by a delayed epidemic outside the normal season has also been observed in other countries. As a national surveillance for pediatric RSV-related hospitalizations is currently lacking, the spatiotemporal pattern of the 2021 RSV epidemic in the Netherlands is yet unclear. Furthermore, it is unclear whether the characteristics of children hospitalized with RSV during the 2021 epidemic differ from those during the previous winter epidemics. This information is essential to understand the impact of public health measures on the burden of pediatric RSV-related hospitalizations and for reconsidering passive immunization policies in the Netherlands.

The vast majority of deaths (99%) realted to RSV occur in low- and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs), and children under 2 years of age are disproportionally affected. A vaccine against RSV infection is expected to become available in the next 5-10 years. LMICs will be supported by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to improve access to this new vaccine. However, there are 2 major hurdles of future vaccine introduction. First, there are limited individual patient data which are essential to inform policy makers about possible target populations for RSV interventions. Second, there is a lack of awareness of RSV related disease burden due to lack of RSV testing. With the RSV GOLD III study we aim to target both hurdles to pave the way for future vaccine introduction.

Furthermore, there is currently little information available on the costs of RSV in LMICs. Cost data are needed to evaluate the financial impact of the burden of acute viral respiratory infections, particularly RSV, on families in LMICs, the healthcare system and society as a whole. As such, with the health-economic part of the RSV GOLD III study we aim to estimate direct medical, direct non-medical and indirect costs associated with RSV in hospitalized and non-hospitalized children.

Contact
Neele Rave