Respiratory Syncytial Virus Incidence and Severity in a Community-Based Prospective Cohort of Children Aged 0–14 Years (original) (raw)

Open Forum Infectious Diseases

Background Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a substantial source of severe illnesses including acute lower respiratory infections (ALRIs) like pneumonia. However, its burden in older children remains less well understood. Methods Using a community-based prospective cohort, we assessed the burden of symptomatic reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction–confirmed RSV among Nicaraguan children aged 0–14 years from 2011 to 2016. ALRI was defined as physician diagnosis of pneumonia, bronchiolitis, bronchitis, or bronchial hyperreactivity. Results Between 2011 and 2016, 2575 children participated in the cohort. Of these, 630 (24.5%) had at least 1 episode of symptomatic RSV and 194 (7.5%) had multiple episodes. Subtype was identified in 571 (69.3%) episodes with 408 (71.5%) RSV-A, 157 (27.5%) RSV-B, and 6 (1%) positive for both. Children aged <2 years displayed the highest incidence of symptomatic RSV, with 269.3 cases per 1000 person-years (95% confidence interval [CI], 242....