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Greater burden of illness associated with RSV compared with influenza
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Researchers called for more infection control strategies geared toward preventing respiratory syncytial virus in young children after recently published data from a study indicated that the virus may be associated with a greater burden of disease than influenza.
Children who had RSV infections had higher rates of hospitalization (8.5 vs. 1.4 per 1,000), visited the ED more often (21.5 vs. 10.2 per 1,000) and caused more missed work days among caregivers (14.2 vs. 6.5 per 1,000) than did children with influenza nationally, the researchers estimated.
“The parents of children with RSV miss almost three times more workdays than parents of children with influenza, and those with children younger than 2 years are nearly five times more likely to miss work when their child has RSV,” the researchers wrote.
Children with RSV infections were also more likely to require additional primary care clinic visits (16.8 vs. 7.2 per 1,000) and antibiotic treatment (11.4 vs. 4.6 per 1,000) compared with children with influenza, data indicated.
The researchers extracted data from three patient cohorts, prospectively enrolled from the ED of a tertiary care pediatric hospital in Massachusetts during two influenza seasons. Patients were aged 7 years and younger and presented with acute respiratory infection symptoms.
“Because the economic burden of childhood illnesses is largely driven by lost caregiver wages, prevention and control approaches that address RSV as well as influenza among young children are likely to be most cost-effective,” the researchers wrote.
They pointed out that the CDC issues influenza guidelines summarizing recommendations that touch upon vaccination policies, antiviral medication use and infection control strategies for specific settings but that none exist for RSV.
“A better understanding of the contribution of RSV to the yearly burden of winter respiratory infections will serve to inform the development of prevention initiatives and to identify at-risk populations and cost-effective policies,” the researchers wrote.
Bourgeois FT. Pediatrics. 2009;124:e1072-e1080.