Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 19, 2026

Generation, Amplification, and Titration of Recombinant Respiratory Syncytial Viruses
Published on: April 4, 2019
Genomic Surveillance Uncovers a Shift in Respiratory Syncytial Virus Subtype Dominance and the Local Expansion of
Emily LaVerriere1,2, Sasha Behar1,2, Yan Mei Liang1,3
1Department of Virology, Immunology and Microbiology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Background:
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of hospitalization among children under 5 and adults over 60 due to its ability to cause acute respiratory illness. Recent approvals of vaccines and monoclonal antibodies against RSV have raised concerns about the potential of prophylactic-evading viral mutations.
Method:
We analyzed 126 RSV-positive nasopharyngeal swabs from Boston Medical Center during the 2024-2025 respiratory season via amplicon-based whole-genome sequencing. We identified nucleotide variants, assigned clades, and built maximum-likelihood phylogenetic trees to examine genetic changes and evolution.
Results:
Out of the 126 genomes analyzed, 94 (74.6%) were RSV-A subtype, indicating a return to RSV-A dominance in the region. Within the RSV-B genomes, a large minority belong to the recently defined B.D.E.1.7 subclade (n = 12, 37.5% of RSV-B samples), which has only appeared sporadically in other US states. Mutations associated with monoclonal antibody or vaccine resistance were not observed.
Conclusions:
These findings show that in the Boston metropolitan area, RSV subtype dominance continues to flip between seasons. Investigation of the clades within both subtypes did not reveal evidence of any virus seeding from the preceding season. Though no mutations associated with prophylactic resistance were identified, surveillance of RSV remains critical to study evolution and transmission dynamics, particularly at the local level.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Respiratory Syncytial Virus Disease
Viral Mutations
Coronavirus
Viral Recombination
Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV) and Cancer
RSV is a retrovirus that contains two copies of a plus-strand RNA genome. Its genome consists of four main open...
Human Virome

