Reappraisal of respiratory syncytial virus as an aetiology of severe acute lower respiratory tract infections in children younger than 5 years in Nigeria

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 prevalence 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.

Keywords: Nigeria; RSV; acute lower respiratory tract infections; bronchiolitis; pneumonia; prevalence.