Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)
Formerly a member of the Paramyxoviridae, this virus is now classified as a member of the Pneumoviridae family, in the genus Orthopneumovirus.
- Glycoprotein G binds respiratory cells.
- In most healthy people, infection causes only a mild upper respiratory illness.
However, in children, older adults, and immunocompromised individuals,* RSV can cause
acute respiratory illness.
RSV-associated infections are a leading cause of death in young children worldwide.*
– RSV causes bronchiolitis and pneumonia in children younger than one year old.
– Some research indicates a correlation between RSV infection and long term respiratory impairment, possibly including the development of
asthma.
- No vaccine available (yet)
- Palivizumab is sometimes given as prophylaxis.
- In immunosuppressed patients, Ribavirin may been given to reduce the severity of RSV infection.
– However,
Ribavirin is not generally recommended for infants, due to inconsistencies in study results.
References
Griffiths, Cameron, Steven J. Drews, and David J. Marchant. "Respiratory Syncytial Virus: Infection, Detection, and New Options for Prevention and Treatment." Clinical Microbiology Reviews 30, no. 1 (January 2017): 277–319. https://doi.org/10.1128/CMR.00010-16.
Jha, Akhilesh, Hannah Jarvis, Clementine Fraser, and Peter JM Openshaw. "Respiratory Syncytial Virus." In SARS, MERS and Other Viral Lung Infections, edited by David S. Hui, Giovanni A. Rossi, and Sebastian L. Johnston. Wellcome Trust–Funded Monographs and Book Chapters. Sheffield UK: European Respiratory Society, 2016. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK442240/.
Linder, Kathleen A., and Preeti N. Malani. "Respiratory Syncytial Virus." JAMA 317, no. 1 (January 3, 2017): 98–98. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2016.17882.
Nicholson, Erin G., and Flor M. Munoz. "A Review of Therapeutics in Clinical Development for Respiratory Syncytial Virus and Influenza in Children." Clinical Therapeutics, August 2, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinthera.2018.06.014.
Rima, Bert, Peter Collins, Andrew Easton, Ron Fouchier, Gael Kurath, Robert A. Lamb, Benhur Lee, Andrea Maisner, Paul Rota, and Linfa Wang. "ICTV Virus Taxonomy Profile: Pneumoviridae." The Journal of General Virology 98, no. 12 (December 2017): 2912–13. https://doi.org/10.1099/jgv.0.000959.
Simões, Eric A. F., Louis Bont, Paolo Manzoni, Brigitte Fauroux, Bosco Paes, Josep Figueras-Aloy, Paul A. Checchia, and Xavier Carbonell-Estrany. "Past, Present and Future Approaches to the Prevention and Treatment of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection in Children." Infectious Diseases and Therapy 7, no. 1 (March 2018): 87–120. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40121-018-0188-z.
