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. 2023 Jun 19;17(6):e13166.
doi: 10.1111/irv.13166. eCollection 2023 Jun.

Respiratory syncytial virus and other respiratory virus infections in residents of homeless shelters - King County, Washington, 2019-2021

Denise J McCulloch  1   2 , Julia H Rogers  1   3 , Yongzhe Wang  1 , Eric J Chow  1 , Amy C Link  1 , Caitlin R Wolf  1 , Timothy M Uyeki  4 , Melissa A Rolfes  4 , Emily Mosites  5 , Jaydee Sereewit  6 , Jeffrey S Duchin  1   7 , Nancy K Sugg  8 , Alexander L Greninger  9 , Michael J Boeckh  2 , Janet A Englund  10 , Jay Shendure  11   12   13   14 , James P Hughes  15 , Lea M Starita  11   12 , Pavitra Roychoudhury  2   9 , Helen Y Chu  1
Affiliations

Respiratory syncytial virus and other respiratory virus infections in residents of homeless shelters - King County, Washington, 2019-2021

Denise J McCulloch et al. Influenza Other Respir Viruses. .

Abstract

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes disproportionate morbidity and mortality in vulnerable populations. We tested residents of homeless shelters in Seattle, Washington for RSV in a repeated cross-sectional study as part of community surveillance for respiratory viruses. Of 15 364 specimens tested, 35 had RSV detected, compared to 77 with influenza. The most common symptoms for both RSV and influenza were cough and rhinorrhea. Many individuals with RSV (39%) and influenza (58%) reported that their illness significantly impacted their ability to perform their regular activities. RSV and influenza demonstrated similar clinical presentations and burden of illness in vulnerable populations living in congregate settings.

Keywords: homeless youth; human; ill‐housed persons; influenza; respiratory syncytial virus infections; respiratory syncytial viruses.

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Conflict of interest statement

Dr. E. Chow reported honoraria from Providence Health & Services, Renton, Washington for presentations on COVID‐19. Dr. P. Roychoudhury reported honoraria from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Association for Molecular Pathology for presentations on COVID‐19. Dr. M. Boeckh reported consulting with GlaxoSmithKline and Janssen and has received research support from Janssen, outside the submitted work. Dr. A. Greninger reports contract testing from Abbott and research support from Gilead and Merck. Dr. J. Englund reported consulting with Sanofi Pasteur, AstraZeneca, and Meissa Vaccines, and has received research funding from AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, and Pfizer outside the submitted work. Dr. H. Chu reported consulting with Ellume, Pfizer, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Glaxo Smith Kline, Abbvie, and Merck. She has received research funding from Gates Ventures, Sanofi Pasteur, and support and reagents from Ellume and Cepheid outside of the submitted work. All other authors report no conflicts of interest. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Confirmed respiratory syncytial virus and influenza detections in shelters in Seattle‐King County, WA 2019–2021 compared with overall prevalence of RSV and influenza in the Seattle Flu Study during the same time. Yellow and purple bars show the number of influenza and respiratory syncytial virus detections in shelters each month. The light green and purple shaded areas show the prevalence of influenza and respiratory syncytial virus detections in the Seattle Flu Study overall during the same time period. Prevalence was calculated as the percent of all Seattle Flu Study specimens with RSV or influenza detected, aggregated by week across Seattle Flu Study collection strategies.
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