Hospitalizations for respiratory syncytial virus infection in Alaska Native children

Abstract

To characterize the epidemiology of Alaska Native children hospitalized for respiratory syncytial virus infections, we reviewed records of hospitalizations during the winter seasons of 1991 to 1992 and 1992 to 1993 at a hospital in Anchorage and a rural hospital in the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta (YKD) region of southwestern Alaska. The median age of hospitalization for respiratory syncytial virus infection was 2 months of age for YKD residents and 4.5 months for Anchorage residents. Sixteen percent of the hospitalized YKD children were less than 1 month of age, whereas the same was true for only 3% of the Anchorage children. Eight percent of the YKD patients required mechanical ventilation, whereas none of the Anchorage patients required ventilation. The median hospital stay was 4.8 days for YKD patients and 3.2 days for Anchorage patients. Hospitalization rates for infants less than 1 year of age were 33/1000 for Alaska Natives in Anchorage and 100/1000 for those in the YKD region. The extremely high hospitalization rate, especially among very young infants in the rural YKD region, points to a need for early preventive efforts.