Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Respiratory Syncytial Virus-associated Deaths among Under-five Children Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Bangladesh.

Md Zakiul Hassan
* ORCID logo ,
Md. Ariful Islam
,
Abu Saleh Muhammad Badrul Haider
ORCID logo ,
Tahmina Shirin
ORCID logo ,
Fahmida Chowdhury
Version 1 : Received: 13 November 2023 / Approved: 14 November 2023 / Online: 14 November 2023 (10:10:30 CET)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Hassan, M.Z.; Islam, M.A.; Haider, S.; Shirin, T.; Chowdhury, F. Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Associated Deaths among Children under Five before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Bangladesh. Viruses 2024, 16, 111. Hassan, M.Z.; Islam, M.A.; Haider, S.; Shirin, T.; Chowdhury, F. Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Associated Deaths among Children under Five before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Bangladesh. Viruses 2024, 16, 111.

Abstract

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of acute lower respiratory infections in young children worldwide. RSV-associated deaths in children are underreported in Bangladesh. We analyzed hospital-based surveillance data on severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) in under-five children before (August 2009–February 2020) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020–March 2022). Using the World Health Organization definition, we identified SARI cases in 14 tertiary-level hospitals. Nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs were collected for real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) testing of six respiratory viruses, including RSV. SARI deaths during the pandemic (2.6%, 66) were higher than pre-pandemic (1.8%, 159; p<0.001). Nearly half of pandemic deaths (47%) had underlying respiratory viruses, similar to the pre-pandemic rate (45%). RSV detection in deaths was consistent pre-pandemic (13%, 20/159) and during the pandemic (12%, 8/66). Children aged <6 months constituted 57% (16) of RSV-related deaths. Evaluating interventions like maternal vaccination and infant monoclonal antibody prophylaxis is crucial to address RSV, a major contributor to under-five SARI deaths.

Keywords

Respiratory syncytial virus; RSV; COVID-19 pandemic; Children; SARI death; Bangladesh

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Virology

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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