University of Florida (UF) Health News
Nirma Khatri Vadlamudi, Ph.D., M.P.H., an assistant professor of pharmaceutical outcomes and policy in the University of Florida College of Pharmacy, led a team of Canadian researchers in studying the national impact of hospitalizing young children with RSV. (Photo by Nate Guidry)
By Tyler Francischine
Gainesville, Florida — A team of researchers led by a University of Florida Health scientist recommends the universal immunization of pregnant women and infants against respiratory syncytial virus, commonly called RSV (a common virus that causes respiratory infections, particularly in infants and young children), following a yearslong assessment of the impact of hospitalizing children with respiratory syncytial virus.
The study was published in The Lancet Regional Health Americas on Oct. 6.
With the research, Nirma Khatri Vadlamudi, Ph.D., M.P.H., an assistant professor of pharmaceutical outcomes and policy in the University of Florida College of Pharmacy, and her team of Canada-based researchers aim to reduce the global disease burden of RSV, a major cause of lung infection and pneumonia in pediatric populations, especially infants.
Though Vadlamudi’s work studied Canada’s children, she said the results apply equally in the United States, where, according to a 2023 study in The Lancet, 89% of 2,000 infants studied suffered an RSV infection in their first year of life that resulted in a health care visit.
In severe cases, RSV can cause wheezing, a barking cough and difficulty breathing.
“No matter where you are in the world, RSV causes serious illness in those under 1 year of age,” Vadlamudi said. “By universally providing RSV monoclonal antibodies or the maternal RSV vaccine, we can prevent young infants from serious illness associated with this virus.”
RSV affects 90% of children across the globe before the age of 2, she said, and otherwise healthy children can require hospitalization or respiratory support in an intensive care unit.
“Hospitalization is a scary experience for everyone, particularly for young children and their parents. It takes an enormous financial and health-related toll on families,” Vadlamudi said.
In 2019, there were 33 million RSV infections, 4 million hospitalizations and 30,000 inpatient deaths among children under 5 years of age globally, said Vadlamudi, a former postdoctoral research fellow at the University of British Columbia.
Most children recover from RSV at home, she said. But around 1-2% of children require hospitalization, and rates are higher for children born prematurely or those with risk factors like congenital heart disease, chronic lung disease or immunodeficiency.
Vadlamudi and her colleagues assessed the health care resources associated with RSV-related pediatric hospitalizations by scouring data from the Canadian Immunization Monitoring Program, which monitors pediatric care centers across Canada.
The researchers tracked RSV-related hospitalizations, intensive care unit admissions, mechanical ventilation use and the number of children who died in hospitals. Figures from the Canadian Institute of Health Information database provided the national incidence of RSV and its economic impact.
The data quantified a profound connection between RSV and pediatric patient populations: infants under 6 months accounted for nearly 45% of 30,000 RSV-related hospitalizations between 2017 and 2023. This translates to about $23 million U.S. dollars, or half the amount RSV costs the Canadian health care system each year.
Vadlamudi and her team advise swift action by government policymakers.
“Adding RSV monoclonal antibodies or the maternal RSV vaccine to immunization programs is strongly recommended to protect infants under 6 months from severe RSV illness,” Vadlamudi said.
A vaccine given to pregnant women in the last trimester protects them and their infant against serious RSV for up to five months following delivery. Another given to infants at birth protects them against serious RSV illness for up to six months.