Article
Medicine, General & Internal
B. Kampmann, S. A. Madhi, I. Munjal, E. A. F. Simoes, B. A. Pahud, C. Llapur, J. Baker, G. Perez Marc, D. Radley, E. Shittu, J. Glanternik, H. Snaggs, J. Baber, P. Zachariah, S. L. Barnabas, M. Fausett, T. Adam, N. Perreras, M. A. Van Houten, A. Kantele, L. -M Huang, L. J. Bont, T. Otsuki, S. L. Vargas, J. Gullam, B. Tapiero, R. T. Stein, F. P. Polack, H. J. Zar, N. B. Staerke, M. Duron Padilla, P. C. Richmond, K. Koury, K. Schneider, E. V. Kalinina, D. Cooper, K. U. Jansen, A. S. Anderson, K. A. Swanson, W. C. Gruber, A. Gurtman
Summary: Vaccination of pregnant women with RSVpreF vaccine was effective in reducing severe RSV-associated lower respiratory tract illness in infants. The vaccine showed 81.8% efficacy within 90 days and 69.4% efficacy within 180 days. The vaccine was found to be safe for both mothers and infants.
NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Deidre Wilkins, Yuan Yuan, Yue Chang, Anastasia A. Aksyuk, Beatriz Seoane Nunez, Ulrika Wahlby-Hamren, Tianhui Zhang, Michael E. Abram, Amanda Leach, Tonya Villafana, Mark T. Esser
Summary: Nirsevimab is an extended half-life monoclonal antibody that provides sustained, high levels of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) against the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) while allowing the development of an immune response. It effectively protects infants from RSV disease throughout their first RSV season and has similar seroresponse rates compared with placebo recipients. It is likely due to the prolonged persistence of nirsevimab at elevated levels that leads to this observed protection.
Article
Immunology
Jaime Fergie, Mina Suh, Xiaohui Jiang, Jon P. Fryzek, Tara Gonzales
Summary: This study found an increase in the burden and severity of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) hospitalizations and all-cause bronchiolitis hospitalizations among otherwise healthy 29-34 weeks' gestational age infants aged <6 months after 2014. The American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendation change regarding palivizumab usage may have contributed to this increase.
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Kee Thai Yeo, Chee Fu Yung, Poh Choo Khoo, Seyed Ehsan Saffari, Jane Swee Peng Sng, Mee See How, Bin Huey Quek
Summary: The study showed that palivizumab prophylaxis was effective in reducing RSV hospitalization among high-risk preterm infants of <32 weeks' gestation within the initial 6 months after discharge in a tropical setting with year-round RSV circulation.
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Melissa R. Riester, Elliott Bosco, Rishik Manthana, Melissa Eliot, Barbara H. Bardenheier, Joe B. B. Silva, Robertus van Aalst, Ayman Chit, Matthew M. Loiacono, Stefan Gravenstein, Andrew R. Zullo
Summary: This study aimed to quantify the relationship between increasing influenza and RSV community viral activity and cardiorespiratory rehospitalizations among older adults discharged to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). The results showed that cardiorespiratory rehospitalization rates increased by approximately 1% for every 5% increase in circulating influenza A(H3N2), influenza B, and RSV, but decreased by 1% for every 5% increase in circulating influenza A(H1N1pdm09). During the respiratory virus season, cardiorespiratory rehospitalization rates increased by approximately 6% for influenza A(H3N2), 3% for influenza B, and 5% for RSV, but decreased by 6% for influenza A(H1N1pdm09).
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION
(2022)
Review
Immunology
Diana M. Bowser, Katharine R. Rowlands, Dhwani Hariharan, Raissa M. Gervasio, Lauren Buckley, Yara Halasa-Rappel, Elizabeth L. Glaser, Christopher B. Nelson, Donald S. Shepard
Summary: This study examines the economic costs of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections among infants and young children in the United States. The findings suggest that public sources bear the majority of the medical costs associated with infants' RSV treatment, and full-term infants account for the majority of RSV hospitalizations and costs.
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Christiana Smith, Yanling Huo, Kunjal Patel, Kirk Fetters, Shannon Hegemann, Sandra Burchett, Russell Van Dyke, Adriana Weinberg
Summary: In HIV-exposed but uninfected infants born in the United States, respiratory virus infections, particularly with RSV and parainfluenza, are associated with hospitalization risk. HEU infants demonstrate robust antibody responses to vaccine antigens, differing from HUU infants.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Pediatrics
Hsin Chi, Ching-Hu Chung
Summary: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a significant disease that poses a major threat to infants and young children, leading to hospitalizations and fatalities. Research conducted in Taiwan reveals that RSV hospitalization occurs throughout the year with small peaks in spring and fall. This study aims to investigate the seasonality of RSV hospitalization in Taiwan and its association with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Article
Immunology
Katherine M. Begley, Arnold S. Monto, Lois E. Lamerato, Anurag N. Malani, Adam S. Lauring, H. Keipp Talbot, Manjusha Gaglani, Tresa McNeal, Fernanda P. Silveira, Richard K. Zimmerman, Donald B. Middleton, Shekhar Ghamande, Kempapura Murthy, Lindsay Kim, Jill M. Ferdinands, Manish M. Patel, Emily T. Martin
Summary: In this study, adults hospitalized with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) were found to have worse outcomes compared with influenza. They were more likely to have cardiopulmonary comorbidities, experience a longer stay, and require mechanical ventilation. This study highlights the importance of RSV surveillance and informs future vaccination strategies.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Laura L. Hammitt, Ron Dagan, Yuan Yuan, Manuel Baca Cots, Miroslava Bosheva, Shabir A. Madhi, William J. Muller, Heather J. Zar, Dennis Brooks, Amy Grenham, Ulrika Wahlby Hamren, Vaishali S. Mankad, Pin Ren, Therese Takas, Michael E. Abram, Amanda Leach, M. Pamela Griffin, Tonya Villafana
Summary: A single injection of nirsevimab administered before the RSV season protected healthy late-preterm and term infants from medically attended RSV-associated lower respiratory tract infection.
NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Marco Del Riccio, Peter Spreeuwenberg, Richard Osei-Yeboah, Caroline K. Johannesen, Liliana Vazquez Fernandez, Anne C. Teirlinck, Xin Wang, Terho Heikkinen, Mathieu Bangert, Saverio Caini, Harry Campbell, John Paget
Summary: This study estimated that an average of 245,244 children aged under 5 years are hospitalized annually due to RSV in the EU, with the highest hospitalization rates in children aged less than 2 months (71.6 per 1000 children).
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Natasha Halasa, Laura D. Zambrano, Justin Z. Amarin, Laura S. Stewart, Margaret M. Newhams, Emily R. Levy, Steven L. Shein, Christopher L. Carroll, Julie C. Fitzgerald, Marian G. Michaels, Katherine Bline, Melissa L. Cullimore, Laura Loftis, Vicki L. Montgomery, Asumthia S. Jeyapalan, Pia S. Pannaraj, Adam J. Schwarz, Natalie Z. Cvijanovich, Matt S. Zinter, Aline B. Maddux, Melania M. Bembea, Katherine Irby, Danielle M. Zerr, Joseph D. Kuebler, Christopher J. Babbitt, Mary Glas Gaspers, Ryan A. Nofziger, Michele Kong, Bria M. Coates, Jennifer E. Schuster, Shira J. Gertz, Elizabeth H. Mack, Benjamin R. White, Helen Harvey, Charlotte V. Hobbs, Heda Dapul, Andrew D. Butler, Tamara T. Bradford, Courtney M. Rowan, Kari Wellnitz, Mary Allen Staat, Cassyanne L. Aguiar, Saul R. Hymes, Adrienne G. Randolph, Angela P. Campbell
Summary: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) and hospitalization in infants worldwide. This study evaluates the characteristics and outcomes of RSV-related critical illness in US infants during the peak transmission of RSV in 2022. The findings indicate that most infants requiring intensive care for RSV LRTIs in the US were young, healthy, and born at term. These results emphasize the importance of RSV preventive interventions targeting all infants to reduce the burden of severe RSV illness.
Article
Immunology
Mohinder Sarna, Amanuel Gebremedhin, Peter Richmond, Avram Levy, Kathryn Glass, Hannah C. Moore
Summary: Respiratory syncytial virus is a major cause of illness and death in infants worldwide. By analyzing pre-pandemic RSV testing data and hospital admission data, a statistical prediction model was used to estimate RSV-hospitalizations in infants under 1 year old. The highest incidence rate of RSV-hospitalization in infants under 6 months was found in those born in April/May.
Article
Immunology
Jason R. Gantenberg, Robertus van Aalst, Nicole Zimmerman, Brendan Limone, Sandra S. Chaves, William V. La Via, Christopher B. Nelson, Christopher Rizzo, David A. Savitz, Andrew R. Zullo
Summary: RSV is a major cause of infant hospitalization in the United States. While preterm infants and those with specific comorbidities are at high risk, 80% of RSV infections occur in term infants without comorbidities. Future prevention efforts should target all infants.
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Eric A. F. Simoes, Eduardo Forleo-Neto, Gregory P. Geba, Mohamed Kamal, Feng Yang, Helen Cicirello, Matthew R. Houghton, Ronald Rideman, Qiong Zhao, Sarah L. Benvin, Alicia Hawes, Erin D. Fuller, Elzbieta Wloga, Jose M. Novoa Pizarro, Flor M. Munoz, Scott A. Rush, Jason S. McLellan, Leah Lipsich, Neil Stahl, George D. Yancopoulos, David M. Weinreich, Christos A. Kyratsous, Sumathi Sivapalasingam
Summary: The study indicates that suptavumab did not reduce the overall rate of childhood RSV respiratory infections due to a newly circulating mutant strain of RSV B. Genetic variation in circulating RSV strains will continue to pose challenges to prevention efforts.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Donald R. Olson, Benjamin A. Lopman, Kevin J. Konty, Robert W. Mathes, Vikki Papadouka, Alexandra Ternier, Jane R. Zucker, Lone Simonsen, Bryan T. Grenfell, Virginia E. Pitzer
Article
Immunology
Maile T. Phillips, Joshua L. Warren, Noga Givon-Lavi, Adrienn Tothpal, Gili Regev-Yochay, Ron Dagan, Daniel M. Weinberger
Article
Genetics & Heredity
James R. Knight, Eileen M. Dunne, E. Kim Mulholland, Sudipta Saha, Catherine Satzke, Adrienn Tothpal, Daniel M. Weinberger
Summary: The new software tool SeroCall can accurately identify and quantify different serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae in samples, even when multiple serotypes are present. This method achieved 100% accuracy for detecting the major serotype and up to 86% accuracy for detecting minor serotypes in mixed cultures.
MICROBIAL GENOMICS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kim Sneppen, Bjarke Frost Nielsen, Robert J. Taylor, Lone Simonsen
Summary: The overdispersion of COVID-19 transmission gives the virus a weakness: reducing contacts between people who do not regularly meet would significantly reduce the pandemic, while reducing repeated contacts in defined social groups would be less effective.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Editorial Material
Biology
Lone Simonsen, Cecile Viboud
Summary: The COVID-19 "excess mortality" has been estimated in more than 100 countries, revealing a significant death toll in many countries.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zhe Zheng, Virginia E. Pitzer, Joshua L. Warren, Daniel M. Weinberger
Summary: The study found that respiratory syncytial virus epidemics exhibit spatial-temporal variability, with earlier epidemics associated with larger household size and higher population density. Nearby localities had similar epidemic timings, suggesting that epidemics grow faster in areas with more local contact opportunities and follow a spatial diffusion process based on geographic proximity.
Article
Physics, Condensed Matter
Bjarke Frost Nielsen, Kim Sneppen, Lone Simonsen, Joachim Mathiesen
Summary: The study suggests that contact tracing can be significantly effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19 in workplace environments and realistic social networks, highlighting the importance of considering the impact of social network structure and heterogeneous social activities on contact tracing strategies.
EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL B
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Zhe Zheng, Joshua L. Warren, Iris Artin, Virginia E. Pitzer, Daniel M. Weinberger
Summary: This study used Google search data as a validated proxy to evaluate the onset of RSV epidemics in 2021 and 2016-2019. Despite the unusual occurrence of RSV epidemics in summer, the relative timing of RSV epidemics between states in 2021 showed similarities with typical winter seasons. The findings suggest that the onset of RSV epidemics in Florida can be used as a baseline for adjusting prophylaxis administration and clinical trial initiation in other states, regardless of the seasonality of RSV epidemics.
INFLUENZA AND OTHER RESPIRATORY VIRUSES
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ottavia Prunas, Joshua L. Warren, Forrest W. Crawford, Sivan Gazit, Tal Patalon, Daniel M. Weinberger, Virginia E. Pitzer
Summary: Existing evidence has established the effectiveness of vaccines against COVID-19 at the individual level. However, there is limited research on the effectiveness of vaccines in preventing transmission. A study conducted in Israel found that the BNT162b2 vaccine significantly reduced the risk of household transmission of SARS-CoV-2. However, the vaccine's effectiveness in reducing infectiousness among individuals who are already infected was lower during the 10 to 90 days after the second dose. Overall, the total vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 was high, but it decreased over time due to waning immunity and the emergence of the Delta variant.
Article
Immunology
Maarten van Wijhe, Caroline Klint Johannesen, Lone Simonsen, Inger Merete Jorgensen, Thea K. Fischer
Summary: Infants with RSV-associated hospitalization have a higher risk of recurrent wheeze or asthma compared to infants with other respiratory infections.
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Melanie H. Chitwood, Marcus Russi, Kenneth Gunasekera, Joshua Havumaki, Fayette Klaassen, Virginia E. Pitzer, Joshua A. Salomon, Nicole A. Swartwood, Joshua L. Warren, Daniel M. Weinberger, Ted Cohen, Nicolas A. Menzies
Summary: Reported COVID-19 cases and deaths provide an incomplete picture of SARS-CoV-2 infections in the US. By estimating the incidence of infections at the county level, it was found that there were approximately 49 million symptomatic COVID-19 cases and 404,214 COVID-19 deaths in the US by the end of 2020. The estimates show significant variation in timing and magnitude of incidence among different counties, providing a more detailed understanding of disease trends and epidemiological drivers.
PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Orchid M. M. Allicock, Anna York, Pari Waghela, Devyn Yolda-Carr, Daniel M. M. Weinberger, Anne L. L. Wyllie
Summary: Saliva is a sample type that can be used for pneumococcal carriage studies and overcomes the issues seen with nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs. Recent studies have shown the utility of saliva in detecting carriage in adults, and the stability of pneumococci in neat saliva samples makes it a viable sample type for such studies conducted in remote or low-resource settings.
Article
Biology
Wha-Eum Lee, Sang Woo Park, Daniel M. Weinberger, Donald Olson, Lone Simonsen, Bryan T. Grenfell, Cecile Viboud
Summary: Excess mortality studies provide important information on the health burden of pandemics and other large-scale events. This study separates the direct impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on mortality from the indirect consequences of the pandemic in the United States using time series approaches. The results indicate that the largest consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are due to the direct impact of SARS-CoV-2 infections, but the secondary impacts dominate among younger age groups and in mortality from external causes.
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Bjarke Frost Nielsen, Kim Sneppen, Lone Simonsen
Summary: Superspreading plays a crucial role in the transmission dynamics of emerging infectious diseases. Recent studies have shown its profound impact on outbreak control and the need for further research on the mechanisms and modes of superspreading.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)