Respiratory syncytial virus infection in north-east England.

Abstract

SummaryDuring a period covering four winter epidemics 987 respiratory syncytial (RS) virus infections were identified in the children's wards that served a total population of about 875 000 in north-east England. The incidence of admission to hospital with RS virus infection tended to be twice as high among children in Tyneside as that among children from the rest of the catchment area. The risk of hospital admission with RS virus infection in the first year of life for city children was about 1 in 50. The risk tended to be increased when there was a high proportion of children in the population, overcrowded housing, and unemployment. There was no clear relation between climatic changes and the onset or progress of epidemics. Thirteen deaths associated with RS virus infection were identified, four of them sudden and unexpected at home, and nine of them in children with congenital or acquired abnormalities. Twelve children were admitted twice with distinct RS virus infections; the relative severity of their two illnesses depended on age. Hospital cross-infection accounted for 60 of the 987 illnesses.Large families and overcrowding among poorer families seem to lead to a higher incidence of RS virus infection, and measures to reduce overcrowding and improve housing should help to reduce the spread of infection. Breast-feeding also protects infants from infection, but further information is needed to pinpoint the infants at greater risk and how they may best be protected.

Contribution of RSV to bronchiolitis and pneumonia-associated hospitalizations in English children, April 1995–March 1998

“…The hospitalization rate of 20 per 1000 per year in children younger than 1 year of age found in 1975 [7] by taking specimens from all children admitted to a paediatric ward with a respiratory tract illness in north-east England is approximately 50 % lower than the rate derived from our estimates. However, a substantial increase in rates of hospitalization of infants with bronchiolitis during 1980-96 was also seen in an American study [11].…”

“…In the United Kingdom, Sims et al [7] reported over 25 years ago that the risk of hospital admission with RSV in the first year of life in northeast England was 20 per 1000 per year. More recent UK studies have been undertaken in cohorts of pre-term infants and those with underlying chronic lung disease to determine the potential impact of immunoprophylaxis.…”

Genetic Variability of Group A Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus Strains Circulating in Germany from 1998 to 2007

“…Infection rates for RSV of 68.8/100 children during the first year of life and 82.6/100 during the second year have been observed (16). The incidence of RSV-associated bronchiolitis and pneumonia was highest in 2-to 3-month-old infants, whereas with increasing age, the incidence decreased (36,47). In this study, RSV was detected in over 1,400 respiratory samples over a period of nine consecutive seasons.…”

“…Unique representative sequences of each of the eight RSV group A VOL. 47,2009 MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY OF RSV IN GERMANY 1801 genotypes were included in the phylogenetic analysis. GenBank accession numbers and the year and country of isolation of these sequences are given in Table 2.…”

Antibodies to Respiratory Syncytial Virus Polypeptides and their Significance in Human Infection

“…Respiratory syncytial (RS) virus inevitably infects all infants, with 1 of every 50 babies born in urban areas becoming sufficiently ill with bronchiolitis or pneumonia to require hospital treatment (Sims et al, 1976). The peak prevalence of severe infection lies between the ages of 6 weeks and 5 months (Gardner, 1973;Parrott et al, 1973), suggesting that maternal IgG persisting in the babies' blood confers little or no protection and perhaps even contributes to disease by interaction with RS virus antigen in the lung (Chanock et al, 1970).…”