scholarly journals On the Relative Role of Different Age Groups During Epidemics Associated With Respiratory Syncytial Virus

2017 ◽  
Vol 217 (2) ◽  
pp. 238-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Goldstein ◽  
Hieu H Nguyen ◽  
Patrick Liu ◽  
Cecile Viboud ◽  
Claudia A Steiner ◽  
...  
2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Goldstein ◽  
H. H. Nguyen ◽  
P. Liu ◽  
C. Viboud ◽  
C.A. Steiner ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundWhile RSV circulation results in high burden of hospitalization, particularly among infants, young children and the elderly, little is known about the role of different age groups in propagating annual RSV epidemics in the community.MethodsDuring a communicable disease outbreak, some subpopulations may play a disproportionate role during the outbreak's ascent due to increased susceptibility and/or contact rates. Such subpopulations can be identified by considering the proportion that cases in a subpopulation represent among all cases in the population occurring before (Bp) and after the epidemic peak (Ap) to calculate the subpopulation's relative risk, RR=Bp/Ap. We estimated RR for several age groups using data on RSV hospitalizations in the US between 2001-2012 from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP).ResultsChildren aged 3-4y and 5-6y each had the highest RR estimate for 5/11 seasons in the data, with RSV hospitalization rates in infants being generally higher during seasons when children aged 5-6y had the highest RR estimates. Children aged 2y had the highest RR estimate during one season. RR estimates in infants and individuals aged 11y and older were mostly lower than in children aged 1-10y.ConclusionsThe RR estimates suggest that preschool and young school-age children have the leading relative roles during RSV epidemics. We hope that those results will aid in the design of RSV vaccination policies.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 96 (2) ◽  
pp. 391-391
Author(s):  
Leon S. Greos

Alveolar macrophages are infected by RSV in vivo and coexpress potent immunomodulatory molecules that potentially regulate local immune response or lung injury caused by RSV infection.


2005 ◽  
Vol 86 (4) ◽  
pp. 1103-1107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blanca García-Barreno ◽  
John Steel ◽  
Monica Payá ◽  
Luis Martínez-Sobrido ◽  
Teresa Delgado ◽  
...  

The reactivity of a panel of 12 monoclonal antibodies raised against the human respiratory syncytial virus 22 kDa (22K) protein was tested by Western blotting with a set of 22K deletion mutants. The results obtained identified sequences in the C-terminal half of the 22K polypeptide required for integrity of most antibody epitopes, except for epitope 112, which was lost in mutants with short N-terminal deletions. This antibody, in contrast to the others, failed to immunoprecipitate the native 22K protein, indicating that the N terminus of this protein is buried in the native molecule and exposed only under the denaturing conditions of Western blotting. In addition, N-terminal deletions that abolished reactivity with monoclonal antibody 112 also inhibited phosphorylation of the 22K protein previously identified at Ser-58 and Ser-61, suggesting that the N terminus is important in regulating the 22K protein phosphorylation status, most likely as a result of its requirement for protein folding.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Goldstein

AbstractBackgroundThere is limited information about the role of different age groups, particularly subgroups of school-age children and younger adults in propagating influenza epidemics.MethodsFor a communicable disease outbreak, some subpopulations may play a disproportionate role during the ascent of the outbreak due to increased susceptibility and/or contact rates. Such subpopulations can be identified by considering the proportion that cases in a subpopulation represent among all cases in the population occurring before the epidemic peak (Bp), the corresponding proportion after the epidemic peak (Ap), to calculate the relative risk for a subpopulation, RR=Bp/Ap. We estimated RR for several age groups using data on reported influenza A cases in Germany between 2002-2017.ResultsChildren aged 14-17y had the highest RR estimates for 7 out of 15 influenza A epidemics in the data, including the 2009 pandemic, and the large 2016/17, 2008/09, and 2006/07 seasons. Children aged 10-13y had the highest RR estimates during 3 epidemics, including the large 2014/15 and 2004/05 seasons. Children aged 6-9y had the highest RR estimates during two epidemics, including the large 2012/13 season. Children aged 2-5y had the highest RR estimate during the moderate 2015/16 season; adults aged 18-24y had the highest RR estimate during the small 2005/06 season; adults aged 25-34y had the highest RR estimate during the large, 2002/03 season.ConclusionsOur results support the prominent role of all school-age children, particularly the oldest ones, in propagating influenza epidemics in the community. We note that national vaccination coverage levels among older school-age children were lower than among younger school-age children during the recent influenza seasons in the US, and influenza vaccination program in England has not been phased in yet for secondary school students.


2018 ◽  
Vol 99 (4) ◽  
pp. 489-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Machado ◽  
Andrés Pizzorno ◽  
Jonathan Hoffmann ◽  
Aurélien Traversier ◽  
Hubert Endtz ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (20) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura M Vos ◽  
Anne C Teirlinck ◽  
José E Lozano ◽  
Tomás Vega ◽  
Gé A Donker ◽  
...  

Background To control respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which causes acute respiratory infections, data and methods to assess its epidemiology are important. Aim We sought to describe RSV seasonality, affected age groups and RSV-type distribution over 12 consecutive seasons in the Netherlands, as well as to validate the moving epidemic method (MEM) for monitoring RSV epidemics. Methods We used 2005−17 laboratory surveillance data and sentinel data. For RSV seasonality evaluation, epidemic thresholds (i) at 1.2% of the cumulative number of RSV-positive patients per season and (ii) at 20 detections per week (for laboratory data) were employed. We also assessed MEM thresholds. Results In laboratory data RSV was reported 25,491 times (no denominator). In sentinel data 5.6% (767/13,577) of specimens tested RSV positive. Over 12 seasons, sentinel data showed percentage increases of RSV positive samples. The average epidemic length was 18.0 weeks (95% confidence intervals (CI):  16.3–19.7) and 16.5 weeks (95% CI: 14.0–18.0) for laboratory and sentinel data, respectively. Epidemics started on average in week 46 (95% CI: 45–48) and 47 (95% CI:  46–49), respectively. The peak was on average in the first week of January in both datasets. MEM showed similar results to the other methods. RSV incidence was highest in youngest (0–1 and >1–2 years) and oldest (>65–75 and > 75 years) age groups, with age distribution remaining stable over time. RSV-type dominance alternated every one or two seasons. Conclusions Our findings provide baseline information for immunisation advisory groups. The possibility of employing MEM to monitor RSV epidemics allows prospective, nearly real-time use of surveillance data.


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