Journal Article Comparative Study Ppublish 14 citations
PubMed: 40302540 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.70373
Disease Burden of RSV Infection in Adult Patients in Comparison to Influenza Virus Infection.
J Med Virol 97(5):e70373
Authors: Georgii Trifonov, Erik Büscher, David Fistera, Clemens Kill, Joachim Risse, Christian Taube, Daniel Todt, Ulf Dittmer, Carina Elsner
Affiliations
- Institute for Virology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.
- Department of Pulmonary Medicine, University Medicine Essen-Ruhrlandklinik, Essen, Germany.
- Center of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany.
- Department of Translational and Computational Infection Research, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
- European Virus Bioinformatics Center (EVBC), Jena, Germany.
Abstract
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is well known for its impact on children, but its burden in adults remains underexplored, partly due to limited PCR testing before the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, the medical burden of RSV infections in adults was retrospectively investigated using 6-year longitudinal data from a university hospital in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Outcomes of 380 PCR-confirmed RSV cases were compared with 1088 influenza A/B cases from 2018 to 2023, stratified by age groups ( < 60 and ≥ 60 years). Among RSV cases, 59.7% required hospitalization, of which 22.9% needed oxygen supply. In the whole group hospitalization rates were comparable between RSV and influenza cases, but oxygen supply was more frequent in influenza infections. However, in patients aged ≥ 60 years, no significant differences were observed in hospitalization, oxygen supply, or fatal outcomes between RSV and influenza, indicating a comparable disease burden for both viruses in this group. These findings highlight the significant clinical impact of RSV in adults, particularly those aged ≥ 60 years, paralleling that of influenza. Given influenza's established pathogenic reputation, this underscores the importance of targeted vaccination strategies against RSV, especially for high-risk age groups.
MeSH
Respiratory Syncytial Viruses, Hospitalization, Vaccines, Virology, Aged, Influenza, Human, Viruses, Cost Of Illness, Orthomyxoviridae, Infections, Virus Diseases, Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections