Genotyping of respiratory syncytial virus among influenza‐like illness and severe acute respiratory infection cases of children in the Philippines from 2006 to 2016

Abstract

Objective Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of severe lower respiratory infection, and therefore, a major threat to global health. This study determined the epidemiological and molecular characteristics of RSV among cases of influenza‐like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) among children in the Philippines. Method The study included archived nasopharyngeal swab and oropharyngeal swab samples collected from patients under the age of five who are presented with ILI or SARI for the period of 2006–2016. Swabs were examined for RSV subgroup by multiplex real‐time qRT‐PCR. Partial genome sequencing and phylogenetic analyses of the second hypervariable region (HVR) of the G gene were used to determine the genotype of RSV isolates. Results A total of 1036 representative samples from all sites were selected and tested. Of these samples, 122 were RSV‐positive at 11.8% prevalence rate, and 58.2% (71/122) were classified as RSV‐A. Six genotypes were identified, which include NA1 (27/122, 22.1%), ON1 (5/122, 4.1%), GA2 (1/122, 0.8%), and GA5 (1/122, 0.8%) for RSV‐A; and BA2 (13/122, 10.7%) and BA9 (1/122, 0.8%) for RSV‐B. Most RSV‐related cases were significantly associated with clinical characteristics such as runny nose (88.1% RSV vs. 11.9% non‐RSV: p value = 0.021), pneumonia (80.6% RSV vs. 19.4% non‐RSV; p value = 0.015), and bronchitis (71.7% RSV vs. 28.3% non‐RSV; p value < 0.001). Increased RSV‐related cases were observed among children below 24 months old. Conclusion The RSV trend and genetic variability in the Philippines resembles a similar pattern of transmission globally.

Prevalence of respiratory syncytial virus infection and associated factors in children aged under five years with severe acute respiratory illness and influenza-like illness in Ethiopia

“…Our study was conducted during 2021-2022, when the infection prevention and control measures were more practiced, in line with the COVID-19 pandemic prevention and response directives/guidance. On the other hand, our finding showed a higher positivity rate than the 13.5% in Gabon [25] and 11.8% in the Philippines [26] ; in the case of Gabon, this may be because the study participants included were mainly ambulatory (ILI) cases, and, in the case of the study in the Philippines, RSV test results from samples that were archived for a long time were used; both cases could contribute to the lower RSV test positivity difference.…”

Epidemiological Characteristics of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection Among Hospitalized Children With Acute Respiratory Tract Infections From 2014 to 2022 in a Hospital in Hubei Province, China: Longitudinal Surveillance Study

“…Compared with our results, Germany witnessed similar RSV positivity rates for children aged 0 to 4 years from 2011 to 2021, but the yearly epidemic level was more stable [29]. RSV positivity rates of children fluctuated from 7.5% to 23% during 2007 to 2016 in the Philippines [30]. However, RSV in southwest Finland (2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012) and Russia (2013-2018) was rarely detected, with positivity rates of 6% and 4.4%, respectively [31,32].…”