Prolonged seasonality of respiratory syncytial virus infection among preterm infants in a subtropical climate

• Published in: PloS one 2014-10, Vol.9 (10), p.e110166-e110166
• Main Authors: Hsu, Chyong-Hsin, Lin, Chia-Ying, Chi, Hsin, Chang, Jui-Hsing, Hung, Han-Yang, Kao, Hsin-An, Peng, Chun-Chih, Jim, Wai-Tim
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized - therapeutic use; Antigens; Antiviral Agents - therapeutic use; Birth weight; Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia - diagnosis; Children; Climate; Congenital diseases; Disease control; Disease prevention; Dysplasia; Epidemiology; Female; Gestational Age; Hospitalization; Hospitalization - trends; Hospitals; Humans; Incidence; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Premature; Infants; Infection; Infections; Male; Medicine and Health Sciences; Monoclonal antibodies; Monthly distribution; Newborn babies; Palivizumab; Patients; Pediatrics; Premature babies; Premature infants; Prophylaxis; Respiratory syncytial virus; Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections - drug therapy; Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections - epidemiology; Retrospective Studies; Seasonal variations; Subtropical climates; Surveillance; Taiwan - epidemiology; Viral infections; Viruses
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0110166

There is limited epidemiological data on the seasonality of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in subtropical climates, such as in Taiwan. This study aimed to assess RSV seasonality among children ≤24 months of age in Taiwan. We also assessed factors (gestational age [GA], chronologic age [CA], and bronchopulmonary dysplasia [BPD]) associated with RSV-associated hospitalization in preterm infants to confirm the appropriateness of the novel Taiwanese RSV prophylactic policy. From January 2000 to August 2010, 3572 children aged ≤24-months were admitted to Taipei Mackay Memorial Hospital due to RSV infection. The monthly RSV-associated hospitalization rate among children aged ≤24 months was retrospectively reviewed. Among these children, 378 were born preterm. The associations between GA, CA, and BPD and the incidence of RSV-associated hospitalization in the preterm infants were assessed. In children aged ≤24 months, the monthly distribution of RSV-associated hospitalization rates revealed a prolonged RSV season with a duration of 10 months. Infants with GAs ≤32 weeks and those who had BPD had the highest rates of RSV hospitalization (P