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. 2014 Jul 15;9(7):e102586.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0102586. eCollection 2014.

Seasonal incidence of medically attended respiratory syncytial virus infection in a community cohort of adults ≥50 years old

David L McClure  1 , Burney A Kieke  1 , Maria E Sundaram  1 , Melissa D Simpson  1 , Jennifer K Meece  1 , Frangiscos Sifakis  2 , Robert A Gasser Jr  2 , Edward A Belongia  1
Affiliations

Seasonal incidence of medically attended respiratory syncytial virus infection in a community cohort of adults ≥50 years old

David L McClure et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Diagnostic testing for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is not routinely performed in adults. We estimated medically attended RSV seasonal incidence in a community cohort of adults ≥50 years old during four influenza seasons (2006-07 through 2009-10).

Methods: Patients seeking care for acute respiratory illness (ARI) were prospectively enrolled and tested for RSV by multiplex RT-PCR. Results from enrolled patients were used to estimate projected cases among non-enrolled patients with ARI. The seasonal incidence of medically attended RSV was the sum of actual and projected cases divided by the community cohort denominator. Since each enrollment period did not include the entire RSV season, incidence estimates were adjusted to account for the statewide proportion of RSV occurring outside the study enrollment period.

Results: There were 16,088 to 17,694 adults in the cohort each season and 164 RSV cases in all 4 seasons. The overall seasonal incidence of medically attended RSV was 154 episodes (95% CI, 132-180) per 10,000 persons; the incidence was highest in 2007-08 (179) and lowest in 2006-07 (110). Among persons 50-59, 60-69, and ≥70 years old, RSV incidence was 124 (95% CI, 99-156), 147 (95% CI, 110-196), and 199 (95% CI, 153-258), respectively.

Conclusions: The incidence of medically attended RSV increased with age and was similar during four seasons.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: Two of the study authors are employed by MedImmune LLC, which funded this research. This does not alter the authors' adherence to PLOS ONE policies on data sharing and materials.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Medically attended RSV cases in Marshfield study participants ≥50 years old and statewide RSV counts (all ages) based on testing at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene.
Study enrollment periods are identified by vertical dashed lines; the percent of all statewide cases that occurred during each enrollment period is shown at the top.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Seasonal incidence and 95% confidence limits of medically attended RSV by age group in a community cohort of adults >50 years old.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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