Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Generation, Amplification, and Titration of Recombinant Respiratory Syncytial Viruses
11:48

Generation, Amplification, and Titration of Recombinant Respiratory Syncytial Viruses

Published on: April 4, 2019

RSV disease in the pediatric population: epidemiology, seasonal variability, and long-term outcomes

Eric A F Simões1

  • 1Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Colorado Denver Health Sciences Center, Denver, USA.

Managed Care (Langhorne, Pa.)
|December 23, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) disease affects many infants, especially premature ones, leading to hospitalizations. Risk factors like prematurity, certain medical conditions, and environmental exposures increase susceptibility to RSV infection.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Infants under one year, particularly premature infants, face significant risk of severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) disease.
  • RSV infections lead to approximately 126,000 hospitalizations annually in the United States.
  • RSV seasonality exhibits considerable temporal and geographical variability, even within local communities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify independent risk factors for severe RSV disease in infants.
  • To inform decisions regarding RSV immunoprophylaxis strategies.
  • To explore potential long-term outcomes of RSV infection, such as asthma development.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of infant health data.
  • Identification and statistical evaluation of risk factors associated with RSV hospitalization.
  • Geographical and temporal analysis of RSV season patterns.

Main Results:

  • Gestational age less than 33 weeks, chronic lung disease (CLD), congenital heart disease (CHD), immunosuppression, male sex, household crowding, and daycare attendance are significant risk factors.
  • Exposure to indoor tobacco smoke and breastfeeding duration less than two months are potential risk factors.
  • High altitude was identified as an additional risk factor for RSV hospitalization in Colorado studies.

Conclusions:

  • RSV immunoprophylaxis decisions require consideration of multiple independent risk factors beyond seasonal patterns.
  • Prematurity and specific medical conditions significantly elevate the risk of severe RSV disease.
  • Long-term consequences of RSV infection, including wheezing and asthma, warrant further investigation.

More Related Videos

An Improved and High Throughput Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Micro-neutralization Assay09:14

An Improved and High Throughput Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Micro-neutralization Assay

Published on: January 26, 2019

An In vitro Model to Study Immune Responses of Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells to Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection09:01

An In vitro Model to Study Immune Responses of Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells to Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection

Published on: December 10, 2013

Related Concept Videos

Respiratory Syncytial Virus Disease01:29

Respiratory Syncytial Virus Disease

Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a widespread pathogen that primarily targets infants and young children but also poses a serious health risk to elderly and immunocompromised individuals. Belonging to the Pneumoviridae family, RSV is a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA virus within the Pneumovirus genus. Its global health burden is significant, with millions of cases annually resulting in hospitalizations and mortality, particularly in resource-limited settings. Although most...
Influenza01:27

Influenza

Influenza is an acute, highly communicable viral disease that affects the respiratory tract and is responsible for seasonal epidemics worldwide. Influenza A is the most prevalent type associated with widespread outbreaks and is subtyped based on two surface glycoproteins: hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N), as in H1N1. These glycoproteins are essential for viral infectivity, transmission, and immune recognition. Transmission occurs primarily through respiratory droplets and contaminated...
Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV) and Cancer01:03

Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV) and Cancer

Rous Sarcoma virus or RSV was discovered by F. Peyton Rous in the year 1911 as a filterable transmissible agent that could cause tumors in chickens. He won a Nobel Prize for this discovery in 1966. His experiments clearly demonstrated that some cancers could be caused by infectious agents and led to the discovery of many more cancer-causing viruses in animals as well as humans.
RSV is a retrovirus that contains two copies of a plus-strand  RNA genome. Its genome consists of four main open...
Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV) and Cancer01:03

Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV) and Cancer

Rous Sarcoma virus or RSV was discovered by F. Peyton Rous in the year 1911 as a filterable transmissible agent that could cause tumors in chickens. He won a Nobel Prize for this discovery in 1966. His experiments clearly demonstrated that some cancers could be caused by infectious agents and led to the discovery of many more cancer-causing viruses in animals as well as humans.
RSV is a retrovirus that contains two copies of a plus-strand  RNA genome. Its genome consists of four main open...
Poliomyelitis01:17

Poliomyelitis

Poliomyelitis is caused by poliovirus, a small, non-enveloped, positive-sense RNA virus of the Picornaviridae family and Enterovirus genus. Transmission occurs primarily via the fecal-oral route, often through ingestion of contaminated water or food. The virus initially replicates in the oropharynx and intestinal mucosa, particularly in lymphoid tissues such as the tonsils, Peyer’s patches, and regional lymph nodes. Primary viremia follows, allowing dissemination throughout the body.In most...
Chickenpox01:20

Chickenpox

Chickenpox is an acute, highly contagious disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV), a double-stranded DNA virus belonging to the Herpesviridae family. Its transmission occurs primarily through the inhalation of respiratory droplets or direct contact with vesicular fluid from skin lesions. The incubation period typically ranges from 10 to 21 days, during which the virus replicates and disseminates through sequential phases within the host. Although generally self-limiting in children,...