Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 1, 2025
An Improved and High Throughput Respiratory Syncytial Virus RSV Micro-neutralization Assay
Published on: January 26, 2019
A comparative analysis of non-pharmaceutical interventions for preventing the respiratory syncytial virus in 30
Giulia Dallagiacoma1,2, Samuel Arthur Rhedin3,4, Anna Odone2
1Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Aim:
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of childhood respiratory infections. Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) can help to reduce RSV transmission and our aim was to provide an overview of recommended NPIs across Europe during the 2022-2023 epidemic season.
Methods:
The webpages of national European public health agencies and ministries were reviewed and the information they provided on RSV prevention was compared with the December 2022 guidelines from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
Results:
We examined 30 countries, leading to 21 issued recommendations for RSV prevention through institutional channels, including six that were specific for the 2022-2023 season. The top five recommendations were: hand and respiratory hygiene (95%), avoiding crowded spaces (67%), staying at home when ill (62%), cleaning household items (57%) and limiting contact with sick people (57%). They also included: face masks (33%), ventilating indoor spaces (29%), properly disposing of contaminated material (13%) and keeping siblings home from preschool if there was a newborn infant in the family (10%).
Conclusion:
There was significant heterogeneity in the NPIs recommended by different countries during RSV epidemics. Ongoing evaluation is essential to optimise the effectiveness of NPIs and adapt to changing RSV patterns.
