The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on RSV outbreaks in children: A multicenter study from China

Teng Zhou¹, Dapeng Chen², Qiang Chen³, Xiuhong Jin⁴, Min Su⁵, Hong Zhang⁶, Liyuan Tian⁷, Shunhang Wen⁸, Lili Zhong⁹, Yu Ma¹⁰, Dongli Ma¹¹, Lu Liang¹², Xiaoxia Lu¹³, Qian Ni¹⁴, Nan Yang¹⁵, Guanghuan Pi¹⁶, Yulin Zhu¹⁷, Xing Chen¹⁸, Jinhai Ma¹⁹, Min Jiang²⁰, Jichun Wang²¹, Xupeng Luo³, Lan Li³, Xiaoning Zhang⁴, Zhan Ma⁶, Man Zhang⁷, Hailin Zhang⁸, Li Lin⁸, Niguang Xiao⁹, Wujun Jiang¹⁰, Wenjing Gu¹⁰, Defeng Cai¹¹, Hongyu Chen¹¹, Li Chen¹², Jia Lei¹², Hui Du¹³, Ying Li¹³, Lili Shao¹⁴, Yunxiao Shang¹⁵, Na Xie¹⁶, Xunming Lei¹⁶, Shenggang Ding¹⁷, Yan Liang¹⁸, Linghua Dong¹⁹, Xiaoyuan Chen¹⁹, Yan Li²⁰, Xiaobo Zhang²⁰, Baoping He²¹, Luo Ren²², Enmei Liu²³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Respiratory Medicine, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Child Rare Diseases in Infection and Immunity, Chongqing, 400014, China; Pediatric Research Institute, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400014, China.
² Department of Clinical Laboratory, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400014, China.
³ Jiangxi Provincial Children's Hospital, Nanchang, 330038, China.
⁴ Respiratory Department, Children's Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, Henan Children's hospital, Zhengzhou Children's Hospital, 450008, China.
⁵ Kunming Children's Hospital, Kunming, Yunnan, 650100, China.
⁶ Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shanghai Children's Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200062, China.
⁷ Hebei Children's Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, 050031, China.
⁸ Department of Children's Respiration disease, the Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325000, Zhejiang, China.
⁹ Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Pediatric Respirology, Pediatric Medical Center, Hunan Provincial People's Hospital (The First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University), Changsha, 410000, China.
¹⁰ Children's Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215025, Jiangsu, China.
¹¹ Shenzhen Pediatrics Institute of Shantou University Medical College, Shenzhen, 518026, Guangdong, China.
¹² Guiyang Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Guiyang, 550003, China.
¹³ Department of Respiratory Medicine, Wuhan Children's Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430015, Hubei, China.
¹⁴ Pediatric Respiratory Department, The Second Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China.
¹⁵ Department of Pediatrics, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, 110004, Liaoning province, China.
¹⁶ Sichuan Provincial Women's and Children's Hospital / The Affiliated Women's and Children's Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, 610000, China.
¹⁷ Department of Pediatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei City, 230022, Anhui Province, China.
¹⁸ Department of Pediatric Respiratory, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong, 250021, China.
¹⁹ General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan City, Ningxia, 750000, China.
²⁰ The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, 530021, Guangxi, China.
²¹ The Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, 010000, China.
²² Department of Respiratory Medicine, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Child Rare Diseases in Infection and Immunity, Chongqing, 400014, China; Pediatric Research Institute, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400014, China. Electronic address: renluo@yeah.net.
²³ Department of Respiratory Medicine, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Child Rare Diseases in Infection and Immunity, Chongqing, 400014, China. Electronic address: emliu186@126.com.

PMID: 39368560
DOI: 10.1016/j.rmed.2024.107828

Multicenter Study

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on RSV outbreaks in children: A multicenter study from China

Teng Zhou et al. Respir Med. 2024 Nov-Dec.

. 2024 Nov-Dec:234:107828.

doi: 10.1016/j.rmed.2024.107828. Epub 2024 Oct 3.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Respiratory Medicine, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Child Rare Diseases in Infection and Immunity, Chongqing, 400014, China; Pediatric Research Institute, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400014, China.
² Department of Clinical Laboratory, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400014, China.
³ Jiangxi Provincial Children's Hospital, Nanchang, 330038, China.
⁴ Respiratory Department, Children's Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, Henan Children's hospital, Zhengzhou Children's Hospital, 450008, China.
⁵ Kunming Children's Hospital, Kunming, Yunnan, 650100, China.
⁶ Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shanghai Children's Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200062, China.
⁷ Hebei Children's Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, 050031, China.
⁸ Department of Children's Respiration disease, the Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325000, Zhejiang, China.
⁹ Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Pediatric Respirology, Pediatric Medical Center, Hunan Provincial People's Hospital (The First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University), Changsha, 410000, China.
¹⁰ Children's Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215025, Jiangsu, China.
¹¹ Shenzhen Pediatrics Institute of Shantou University Medical College, Shenzhen, 518026, Guangdong, China.
¹² Guiyang Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Guiyang, 550003, China.
¹³ Department of Respiratory Medicine, Wuhan Children's Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430015, Hubei, China.
¹⁴ Pediatric Respiratory Department, The Second Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China.
¹⁵ Department of Pediatrics, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, 110004, Liaoning province, China.
¹⁶ Sichuan Provincial Women's and Children's Hospital / The Affiliated Women's and Children's Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, 610000, China.
¹⁷ Department of Pediatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei City, 230022, Anhui Province, China.
¹⁸ Department of Pediatric Respiratory, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong, 250021, China.
¹⁹ General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan City, Ningxia, 750000, China.
²⁰ The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, 530021, Guangxi, China.
²¹ The Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, 010000, China.
²² Department of Respiratory Medicine, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Child Rare Diseases in Infection and Immunity, Chongqing, 400014, China; Pediatric Research Institute, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400014, China. Electronic address: renluo@yeah.net.
²³ Department of Respiratory Medicine, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Child Rare Diseases in Infection and Immunity, Chongqing, 400014, China. Electronic address: emliu186@126.com.

PMID: 39368560
DOI: 10.1016/j.rmed.2024.107828

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the study is to describe the season of RSV prevalence in China during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: This multicenter retrospective study analyzed the epidemiology of pediatric RSV infections and the possible factors contributing to its variations in China from January 1, 2019, to October 31, 2022.

Results: A total of 872,565 children were included. During the pandemic, RSV detection rate increased across various regions, including South China, East China, Central China, and Northeast China. From 2019 to 2021, the detection rates of RSV showed an increasing trend among children aged <1 year, 1-2 years, and 3-5 years, but decreased in 2022. Among those tested positive for RSV, the proportion of children under 1 year old significantly decreased during the pandemic. The spring season of RSV in China in 2020 was shortened, and most regions experienced a summer season of RSV in 2021. This shift led to a year-round RSV outbreak throughout 2021. After April 2022, RSV positive rate significantly decreased, and no clear seasonal pattern was observed.

Conclusion: Our study found that the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the seasonal pattern of RSV outbreaks in China, leading to increased RSV positive rate and off-season outbreaks.

Keywords: COVID-19; Children; Respiratory syncytial virus.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest This project is supported in part by MSD R&D (CHINA) CO., LTD. We declare that we have no conflicts of interest related to this research work.

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The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on RSV outbreaks in children: A multicenter study from China

Affiliations

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on RSV outbreaks in children: A multicenter study from China

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical

Miscellaneous