TY - JOUR
T1 - Defining the seasonality of respiratory syncytial virus around the world
T2 - National and subnational surveillance data from 12 countries
AU - Staadegaard, Lisa
AU - Caini, Saverio
AU - Wangchuk, Sonam
AU - Thapa, Binay
AU - de Almeida, Walquiria Aparecida Ferreira
AU - de Carvalho, Felipe Cotrim
AU - Fasce, Rodrigo A
AU - Bustos, Patricia
AU - Kyncl, Jan
AU - Novakova, Ludmila
AU - Caicedo, Alfredo Bruno
AU - de Mora Coloma, Domenica Joseth
AU - Meijer, Adam
AU - Hooiveld, Mariëtte
AU - Huang, Q Sue
AU - Wood, Tim
AU - Guiomar, Raquel
AU - Rodrigues, Ana Paula
AU - Lee, Vernon Jian Ming
AU - Ang, Li Wei
AU - Cohen, Cheryl
AU - Moyes, Jocelyn
AU - Larrauri, Amparo
AU - Delgado-Sanz, Concepción
AU - Demont, Clarisse
AU - Bangert, Mathieu
AU - Dückers, Michel
AU - van Summeren, Jojanneke
AU - Paget, John
N1 - © 2021 The Authors. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
PY - 2021/11
Y1 - 2021/11
N2 - BACKGROUND: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections are one of the leading causes of lower respiratory tract infections and have a major burden on society. For prevention and control to be deployed effectively, an improved understanding of the seasonality of RSV is necessary.OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this study was to contribute to a better understanding of RSV seasonality by examining the GERi multi-country surveillance dataset.METHODS: RSV seasons were included in the analysis if they contained ≥100 cases. Seasonality was determined using the "average annual percentage" method. Analyses were performed at a subnational level for the United States and Brazil.RESULTS: We included 601 425 RSV cases from 12 countries. Most temperate countries experienced RSV epidemics in the winter, with a median duration of 10-21 weeks. Not all epidemics fit this pattern in a consistent manner, with some occurring later or in an irregular manner. More variation in timing was observed in (sub)tropical countries, and we found substantial differences in seasonality at a subnational level. No association was found between the timing of the epidemic and the dominant RSV subtype.CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that geographical location or climatic characteristics cannot be used as a definitive predictor for the timing of RSV epidemics and highlight the need for (sub)national data collection and analysis.
AB - BACKGROUND: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections are one of the leading causes of lower respiratory tract infections and have a major burden on society. For prevention and control to be deployed effectively, an improved understanding of the seasonality of RSV is necessary.OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this study was to contribute to a better understanding of RSV seasonality by examining the GERi multi-country surveillance dataset.METHODS: RSV seasons were included in the analysis if they contained ≥100 cases. Seasonality was determined using the "average annual percentage" method. Analyses were performed at a subnational level for the United States and Brazil.RESULTS: We included 601 425 RSV cases from 12 countries. Most temperate countries experienced RSV epidemics in the winter, with a median duration of 10-21 weeks. Not all epidemics fit this pattern in a consistent manner, with some occurring later or in an irregular manner. More variation in timing was observed in (sub)tropical countries, and we found substantial differences in seasonality at a subnational level. No association was found between the timing of the epidemic and the dominant RSV subtype.CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that geographical location or climatic characteristics cannot be used as a definitive predictor for the timing of RSV epidemics and highlight the need for (sub)national data collection and analysis.
U2 - 10.1111/irv.12885
DO - 10.1111/irv.12885
M3 - Article
C2 - 34255934
SN - 1750-2640
VL - 15
SP - 732
EP - 741
JO - Influenza and other respiratory viruses
JF - Influenza and other respiratory viruses
IS - 6
ER -