Kiefer Alexander, Pemmerl Sylvia, Kabesch Michael, Ambrosch Andreas
Department of Paediatric Pneumology and Allergy, University Children's Hospital Regensburg (KUNO) at the Hospital St. Hedwig of the Order of St. John, University of Regensburg, Germany.
Department of Hygiene, Caritas-Hospital St. Josef, Regensburg, Germany.
J Clin Virol. 2023 Sep;166:105530. doi: 10.1016/j.jcv.2023.105530. Epub 2023 Jul 6.
RSV is an important cause for respiratory illness in children and the elderly. We analysed RSV seasons since 2016 in both age groups for differences, similarities and timely associations before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
We studied epidemiological and clinical features of seven consecutive RSV seasons since 2016 retrospectively in children and adults who were systematically monitored for RSV infections by PCR when hospitalized in Regensburg, Germany.
Data from 1903 RSV positive, hospitalised patients were analysed (1446 children, 457 adults). We observed a complete absence of RSV associated hospitalizations in season 2020/2021. While in the season of 2021/2022, RSV associated hospitalizations in children returned to considerable numbers earlier than expected, hospitalizations in the elderly were still mitigated during that season in temporal association with the continuation of NPI measures for COVID-19 in the elderly until summer of 2022. Overall, children were hospitalized more often for RSV, while the elderly showed more severe outcomes. RSV hospitalisations continuously increase in both age groups, following a bi-annual pattern of severe and less severe seasons, which was not altered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
We demonstrate the relation between RSV waves in children and the elderly. NPI measures may protect the elderly from RSV infections and epidemiological data could be used to predict RSV waves early enough to prepare countermeasures.
呼吸道合胞病毒（RSV）是儿童和老年人呼吸道疾病的重要病因。我们分析了2016年以来这两个年龄组的RSV流行季节，以了解在2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行之前、期间和之后的差异、相似性及适时关联。
我们回顾性研究了自2016年以来连续七个RSV流行季节的流行病学和临床特征，研究对象为在德国雷根斯堡住院时通过聚合酶链反应（PCR）系统监测RSV感染的儿童和成人。
分析了1903例RSV阳性住院患者的数据（1446例儿童，457例成人）。我们观察到2020/2021季节完全没有与RSV相关的住院病例。在2021/2022季节，儿童中与RSV相关的住院病例比预期更早地恢复到相当数量，而老年人的住院病例在该季节仍有所减少，这与针对老年人的COVID-19非药物干预（NPI）措施持续到2022年夏季在时间上相关。总体而言，儿童因RSV住院的频率更高，而老年人的预后更严重。两个年龄组的RSV住院病例均持续增加，遵循严重季节和不太严重季节的两年模式，这并未因COVID-19大流行而改变。
我们证明了儿童和老年人中RSV流行波之间的关系。NPI措施可能保护老年人免受RSV感染，并且流行病学数据可用于足够早地预测RSV流行波，以便制定应对措施。
