RSV infection tied to high admissions, deaths in younger children

In children aged <5 years, respiratory syncytial virus infection contributes to high hospital admission and in-hospital mortality rates, reports a Mexico study.

The authors performed a prospective testing of RSV and influenza virus in patients <5 years of age who had been admitted to hospital with acute respiratory infection (ARI) between July 2014 and June 2015. They also estimated the rates of mortality for participants living in three municipalities in the state of San Luis Potosi in Mexico.

A total of 790 children living in these municipalities were admitted with ARI during the 12-month study period. Of these, 245 (31 percent) were diagnosed with RSV and 47 (5.9 percent) with influenza. Some 112 children had a history of preterm birth recorded on admission.

Admission rates for children aged <5 years were 23.2 per 1,000 population for those with ARI, 7.2 for RSV, and 1.4 for influenza. For those aged <1 year, the corresponding admission rates per 1,000 infants were 78, 25.2, and 4.4. Admission rates for preterm infants were twice as high as those of term infants.

Six children died, four (66.6 percent) of whom had RSV. None of these deaths were attributed to influenza. In-hospital mortality rates for children aged <5 years were 0.18 per 1,000 population for ARI and 0.12 for RSV. Notably, ARI and RSV mortality rates were seven and 14 times higher in preterm infants than in term infants.

“Specific interventions, such as active or passive immunization, to prevent RSV infections are required to reduce ARI-associated infant mortality,” the researchers said.