TY - JOUR
AU - Nair, Harish
AU - Jollivet, Ombeline
AU - Urchueguía-Fornes, Arantxa
AU - Chung-Delgado, Kocfa
AU - Johannesen, Caroline Klint
AU - Lehtonen, Toni
AU - Gideonse, David
AU - Cohen, Rachel A
AU - Kramer, Rolf
AU - Orrico-Sánchez, Alejandro
AU - Fischer, Thea K
AU - Heikkinen, Terho
AU - 
AU - Campbell, Harry
AU - Osei-Yeboah, Richard
PY - 2025
DA - April
TI - Respiratory Syncytial Virus hospitalisation burden in children below 18 years in six European countries (2016-2023) pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic
JO - International Journal of Infectious Diseases
VL - 155
DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2025.107903
AB - Objectives Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is a substantial cause of hospital admission in young children and leads to seasonal pressure on paediatric emergency units in most countries. This study aims to assemble national or large-scale data on RSV hospitalisations from 6 European countries with a standardised approach to provide recent burden data for all children and assess changes since SARS-CoV-2 emergence. Methods We analysed 2016-2023 hospital records from national registries in Denmark, England, Finland, Netherlands, and Scotland, and from a hospital surveillance network in Spain-Valencia for children below 18 years. We considered separately RSV-coded and RSV laboratory-confirmed cases, comparing them to respiratory tract infections. We studied the temporal evolution of incidence rates and case reporting practices, comparing pre and post-COVID-19 periods. Results Post-COVID-19, observed RSV hospital burden was similar to pre-COVID-19 one for younger children, but higher for 1-2y, 3-4y and 5-17y age groups. No change in terms of coding – neither diagnosis nor RSV-coding when RSV was laboratory-confirmed - was detected. Conclusion Hospital RSV burden in children is significant but currently not fully monitorable. Further efforts to harmonise coding practices both within and across countries would improve the quality of future analyses. Additional data in future seasons should complement current outcomes to inform decisions regarding RSV prevention.
PB - Elsevier
UR - https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/publications/bbc386a9-650a-460f-88f6-939038992319
KW - Coronavirus (COVID-19)
KW - Hospital care
KW - Children, young people and families
ER