Elsevier

Vaccine

Volume 33, Issue 47, 25 November 2015, Pages 6473-6478
Vaccine

The changing landscape of respiratory syncytial virus

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2015.06.119Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
open access

Abstract

Recognition of the acute and chronic burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) sparked a wave of initiatives to develop preventive and therapeutic products against the pathogen in recent years. RSV is a leading cause of hospitalization in infants in industrialized and developing countries, has been causally linked to recurrent wheezing during childhood, associated with pediatric asthma, and is an important cause of mortality in the first months of life in the developing world. Significant changes in the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and severe consequences of LRTI may emerge in the next decade with the advent of novel preventive strategies against RSV. This manuscript outlines some of these changes and discusses potential scenarios based on the current literature and experiences with other pathogens.

Keywords

Respiratory syncytial virus
Vaccines
Infant mortality
Recurrent wheezing
Enhanced respiratory syncytial virus disease
Pregnancy

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