Characterization of human respiratory syncytial virus in children with severe acute respiratory infection before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Paul Simusika; Michiko Okamoto; Clyde Dapat; Walter Muleya; Moffat Malisheni; Sikandar Azam; Takeaki Imamura; Mayuko Saito; Innocent Mwape; Evans Mpabalwani; Mwaka Monze; Hitoshi Oshitani

doi:10.1016/j.ijregi.2024.03.009

Characterization of human respiratory syncytial virus in children with severe acute respiratory infection before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

IJID Reg. 2024 Mar 21:11:100354. doi: 10.1016/j.ijregi.2024.03.009. eCollection 2024 Jun.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Virology, Sendai, Japan.
² University Teaching Hospitals, Pathology and Microbiology Department, Virology Laboratory, Lusaka, Zambia.
³ Levy Mwanawasa Medical University, Institute of Basic and Biomedical Sciences ,Lusaka, Zambia.
⁴ University of Zambia, School of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Lusaka, Zambia.
⁵ Center for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.
⁶ University of Zambia, School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Lusaka, Zambia.

Abstract

Objectives: Annual outbreaks of human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) are caused by newly introduced and locally persistent strains. During the COVID-19 pandemic, global and local circulation of HRSV significantly decreased. This study was conducted to characterize HRSV in 2018-2022 and to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on the evolution of HRSV.

Design/methods: Combined oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from children hospitalized with severe acute respiratory infection at two hospitals in Zambia. The second hypervariable region of the attachment gene G was targeted for phylogenetic analysis.

Results: Of 3113 specimens, 504 (16.2%) were positive for HRSV, of which 131 (26.0%) and 66 (13.1%) were identified as HRSVA and HRSVB, respectively. In early 2021, an increase in HRSV was detected, caused by multiple distinct clades of HRSVA and HRSVB. Some were newly introduced, whereas others resulted from local persistence.

Conclusions: This study provides insights into the evolution of HRSV, driven by global and local circulation. The COVID-19 pandemic had a temporal impact on the evolution pattern of HRSV. Understanding the evolution of HRSV is vital for developing strategies for its control.

Keywords: Molecular evolution; Respiratory syncytial virus; Severe acute respiratory infection; Zambia.

Publication types

Review