Changes of respiratory syncytial virus infection in children before and after the COVID-19 pandemic in Henan, China

Zhang, Mengxin; Gao, Jing; Guo, Qingfeng; Zhang, Xianwei; Zhang, Wancun

doi:10.1016/j.jinf.2022.12.011

Cited by 11 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health measures were strictly applied, including social distancing, increased awareness of wearing masks, reinforced hand hygiene, reduced contact between children, maintaining ventilation, containment, curfew, and closure of schools and daycare centers. Implementation of public health measures led to abrupt declines in human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza infections worldwide in 2020 and 2021 due to a reduction in the circulation of respiratory viruses, with a reported reduction in infection rates of up to 98–99% ( Baker et al., 2020 ; Feng et al., 2021 ; Stamm et al., 2021 ; Stera et al., 2021 ; van Summeren et al., 2021 ; Yeoh et al., 2021 ; Binns et al., 2022 ; Zhang et al., 2023 ). Declines in RSV and influenza and reduced transmission of other respiratory viral pathogens, including common human coronavirus, parainfluenza viruses, human metapneumovirus, adenovirus, rhinovirus, and enterovirus have been observed in the US ( Olsen et al., 2021 ; Rankin et al., 2023 ).…”

Section: "Declines" In Infectious Diseases In Children During the Ear...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing patterns of infectious diseases in children during the COVID-19 pandemic

Yang

Chen

et al. 2023

Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.

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Each infectious disease has had its own epidemic pattern and seasonality for decades. However, public health mitigation measures during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have resulted in changing epidemic patterns of infectious diseases. Stringent measures resulted in low incidences of various infectious diseases during the outbreak of COVID-19, including influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, pneumococcus, enterovirus, and parainfluenza. Owing to the prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections and subsequent immunity development, decreasing virulence of SARS-CoV-2, and worldwide immunization against SARS-CoV-2 in children beyond 6 months of age, mitigation measures are lifted country by country. Consequently, the immunity debt to infectious respiratory viruses other than SARS-CoV-2 contributed to the “off-season,” “see-saw,” and “upsurge” patterns of various infectious diseases in children. Moreover, apart from the persistence of SARS-CoV-2, the coexistence of other circulating viruses or bacterial outbreaks may lead to twindemics or tripledemics during the following years. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain hand hygiene and immunization policies against various pathogens to alleviate the ongoing impact of infectious diseases on children.

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Section: "Declines" In Infectious Diseases In Children During the Ear...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing patterns of infectious diseases in children during the COVID-19 pandemic

Yang

Chen

et al. 2023

Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Reduced transmission of RSV was observed due to non-pharmaceutical interventions, like lockdowns and school closings [ 9 ]. Furthermore, changes in the age distribution of RSV infections have been noted, with preschool-aged children being more affected than school-going children and newborns [ 10 ]. However, the specific impact of the pandemic on RSV epidemiology in LMICs, including Bangladesh, remains an important data gap that needs to be addressed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Associated Deaths among Children under Five before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Bangladesh

Hassan,

Islam,

Haider

et al. 2024

Viruses

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Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of acute lower respiratory infections in young children worldwide. RSV-associated deaths in children are underreported in Bangladesh. We analyzed hospital-based surveillance data on severe acute respiratory infections (SARIs) in under-five children before (August 2009–February 2020) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020–March 2022). Using the World Health Organization definition, we identified SARI cases in 14 tertiary-level hospitals. Nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs were collected for real-time reverse-transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) testing of six respiratory viruses, including RSV. SARI deaths during the pandemic (2.6%, 66) were higher than pre-pandemic (1.8%, 159; p < 0.001). Nearly half of pandemic deaths (47%) had underlying respiratory viruses, similar to the pre-pandemic rate (45%). RSV detection in deaths was consistent pre-pandemic (13%, 20/159) and during the pandemic (12%, 8/66). Children aged < 6 months constituted 57% (16) of RSV-related deaths. Evaluating interventions like maternal vaccination and infant monoclonal antibody prophylaxis is crucial to address RSV, a major contributor to under-five SARI deaths.

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“…Notably, the United States reported historically low weekly percentages of positive RSV rates early in the pandemic (<1.0% per week compared to approximately 12–16% during the pre-COVID era) while an Australian study also observed decreased RSV activity due to COVID-19 restrictions ( 7 , 8 ). Regionally in Asia, China also experienced two sharp declines in RSV infections during the two national outbreaks of the COVID-19 pandemic ( 9 ). In our previous epidemiological study, we observed a sharp decline in RSV cases in 2020, possibly due to reduced exposure to RSV as a result of the nationwide lockdown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the impact of COVID-19 on epidemiological changes of severe pediatric respiratory syncytial virus infections in Malaysia

Chan,

Wahab,

Ali

2024

Front. Public Health

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IntroductionRespiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is one of the leading causes of hospitalization and mortality among children with respiratory tract infections. The non-pharmaceutical preventive measures against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (COVID-19) may have reduced the transmission of RSV, altering its tropical epidemiological seasonality. Thus, this study represents the first attempt to evaluate changes in RSV epidemiology in the context of COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia.MethodsConducted at a tertiary hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, this retrospective study analyzed collated data of children aged <12 years who were admitted for severe respiratory infections from 2017 to 2022. Time series models were used to predict the differences between actual and forecasted RSV cases, while logistic regression assessed the statistical association between RSV and COVID-19.ResultsAmong the 4,084 children analyzed, we reported a significant inverse relationship between RSV and COVID-19 infections during the pandemic (2020–2021) (p < 0.05). In 2020, the RSV positivity rate sharply declined to 8.3 and 5.9%, respectively, in the two prominent seasons. Time series analysis showed a tremendous decrease in cases compared to the expected values, with reductions of 98.3% in the first season and 95.7% in the second season. However, following the lifting of the restriction order in 2022, RSV infections rose sharply with a positivity rate of 36.3%, higher than pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.ConclusionThis study provides evidence of increasing RSV cases post-COVID-19 pandemic, due to immunity debt. Hence, the healthcare system must be prepared to address future RSV outbreaks with the appropriate implementation of prophylaxis and public health measures.

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Changes of respiratory syncytial virus infection in children before and after the COVID-19 pandemic in Henan, China

Cited by 11 publications

References 8 publications

Changing patterns of infectious diseases in children during the COVID-19 pandemic

Changing patterns of infectious diseases in children during the COVID-19 pandemic

Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Associated Deaths among Children under Five before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Bangladesh

Assessing the impact of COVID-19 on epidemiological changes of severe pediatric respiratory syncytial virus infections in Malaysia

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