Reappraisal of respiratory syncytial virus as an aetiology of severe acute lower respiratory tract infections in children younger than 5 years in Nigeria
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Date
2019
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
Abstract
Background: Acute lower respiratory tract infections (ALRIs) especially severe ALRIs, constitute a global
high burden of morbidity and mortality in children <5 y of age and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has been
documented to a play a major aetiological role. However, Nigerian reports on severe childhood RSV ALRIs are
rare and most reports are old. With recent advances in RSV preventive strategy, arises the need for a recent
appraisal of RSV infection in children with severe ALRI. The current study thus set out to determine the preva lence of RSV infection among hospitalized children <5 y of age and describe the related social determinants.
Methods: We performed a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted over 1 y of 120 children, ages 2–59
months, diagnosed with ALRI. Relevant data were obtained and an antigen detection assay was used for viral
studies.
Results: The prevalence of RSV infection was 34.2% and its peak was in the rainy months. The proportion of
infants in the RSV-positive group was significantly higher than that in the RSV-negative group (82.9% vs
54.4%; p=0.002). These findings were largely consistent with those of earlier reports.
Conclusions: RSV has remained a common cause of severe ALRI in infants, especially during the rainy months
in Nigeria. It is thus suggested that more effort be focused towards implementing the current global recommendations for the prevention of RSV-associated LRI, particularly in infants
Description
Keywords
acute lower respiratory tract infections, bronchiolitis, Nigeria, pneumonia, prevalence, RSV
Citation
26. Oladele, D. M., Oladele, D. P., Ibraheem, R. M., Abdulkadir, M. B., Raheem, R. A., Gobir, A. A., . . . & Johnson, A.-W. B. R. (2019): Reappraisal of respiratory syncytial virus as an aetiology of severe acute lower respiratory tract infections in children younger than 5 years in Nigeria. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 113(8); 446-452