Year-Round Respiratory Syncytial Virus Transmission in The Netherlands Following the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Prospective Nationwide Observational and Modeling Study

Yvette N Löwensteyn, Zhe Zheng, Neele Rave, Michiel A G E Bannier, Marie-Noëlle Billard, Jean-Sebastien Casalegno, Virginia E Pitzer, Joanne G Wildenbeest, Daniel M Weinberger, Louis Bont*, SPREAD study group

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

We initiated a nationwide prospective study to monitor RSV-related pediatric hospitalizations in 46 hospitals throughout the Netherlands between May 2021 - August 2022. We showed year-round RSV transmission in the Netherlands after an initial 2021 summer outbreak. The pattern was unprecedented and distinct from neighboring countries. We extended a dynamic simulation model to evaluate the impact of waning immunity on pediatric RSV hospitalizations in the Netherlands using four different scenarios. Our results suggest that the observed continuous RSV transmission pattern could be associated with waning immunity due to the period of very low RSV circulation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1394 - 1399
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Infectious Diseases
Volume228
Issue number10
Early online date21 Jul 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2023

Keywords

  • COVID-19
  • Respiratory syncytial virus
  • epidemic timing
  • immunity debt
  • seasonality
  • transmission
  • waning immunity

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