Respiratory syncytial virus rapid antigen detection tests (RADT) are used widely. RADT exhibited high specificity (97%) and moderate sensitivity (80%) compared with reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction in 720 hospitalized... more
Respiratory syncytial virus rapid antigen detection tests (RADT) are used widely. RADT exhibited high specificity (97%) and moderate sensitivity (80%) compared with reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction in 720 hospitalized children <3 years old. Older age, prolonged symptoms, and respiratory syncytial virus genotype-B infection were significantly associated with false-negative results of RADT.
The global estimate in 2005 indicate that at least 33.8 million episodes of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) associated acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) occurred worldwide in children younger than 5 years and most of these deaths... more
The global estimate in 2005 indicate that at least 33.8 million episodes of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) associated acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) occurred worldwide in children younger than 5 years and most of these deaths occurred in developing countries. The review aimed to analyze published epidemiological data on RSV lower respiratory tract infection in young children in developing countries to ascertain the burden of the disease for evidence-based public health priorities. Articles in English published between 2002 and 2014 were identified through literature searches in PubMed, Web of knowledge, and Embase. The incidence of RSV-LRTI in Asian countries were lower than African countries except Bangladesh. Rate of hospitalized LRTI was similar in magnitude across all studies. Despite an increasing number of epidemiological studies of RSV-LRTI published over the past 13 years in developing countries, there are still clearly many areas that merit further study. There is still a need to establish further RSV surveillance studies to improve the incidence estimates and to explore the extent to which national and regional variation in RSV infection rates exist in countries where there is a high burden and high mortality attributable to LRTI but lack of understanding of local RSV epidemiology.
The idea of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) is utilized when discussing correspondence advancements among vehicles and framework to improve, among others, street wellbeing. We propose a notice administration to avoid mishaps by... more
The idea of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) is utilized when discussing correspondence advancements among vehicles and framework to improve, among others, street wellbeing. We propose a notice administration to avoid mishaps by cautioning drivers about mishaps and perilous street conditions. This administration incorporates the meaning of another communicate dispersal system. A VANET roadway situation is mimicked to assess how the utilization of wellbeing plans diminishes the driver's response time when a startling circumstance happens. This new administration incorporates the meaning of another communicates spread component for low need messages that improve the data transfer capacity utilization. The end drawn in the wake of mimicking the shrewd street structure is that the utilization of astute foundation definitely decreases the response time of the driver. This will deliver an improvement in transport wellbeing since a vehicle would require less space to maintain a strategic distance from a surprising circumstance contrasted with not utilizing these advancements.
RSV is a common illness among young children that causes significant morbidity and health care costs. Routinely collected health administrative data can be used to track disease incidence, explore risk factors and conduct health services... more
RSV is a common illness among young children that causes significant morbidity and health care costs. Routinely collected health administrative data can be used to track disease incidence, explore risk factors and conduct health services research. Due to potential for misclassification bias, the accuracy of data-elements should be validated prior to use. The objectives of this study were to validate an algorithm to accurately identify pediatric cases of hospitalized respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) from within Ontario's health administrative data, estimate annual incidence of hospitalization due to RSV and report the prevalence of major risk factors within hospitalized patients. A retrospective chart review was performed to establish a reference-standard cohort of children from the Ottawa region admitted to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) for RSV-related disease in 2010 and 2011. Chart review data was linked to Ontario's administrative data and used to...
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a nonsegmented negative-strand RNA virus (NSV) and a leading cause of severe lower respiratory tract illness in infants and the elderly. Transcription of the ten RSV genes proceeds sequentially from... more
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a nonsegmented negative-strand RNA virus (NSV) and a leading cause of severe lower respiratory tract illness in infants and the elderly. Transcription of the ten RSV genes proceeds sequentially from the 3' promoter and requires conserved gene start (GS) and gene end (GE) signals. Previous studies using the prototypical GA1 genotype Long and A2 strains have indicated a gradient of gene transcription extending across the genome, with the highest level of mRNA coming from the most promoter-proximal gene, the first nonstructural (NS1) gene, and mRNA levels from subsequent genes dropping until reaching a minimum at the most promoter-distal gene, the polymerase (L) gene. However, recent reports show non-gradient levels of mRNA, with higher than expected levels from the attachment (G) gene. It is unknown to what extent different transcript stabilities might shape measured mRNA levels. It is also unclear whether patterns of RSV gene expression vary, or show strain-or genotype-dependence. To address this, mRNA abundances from five RSV genes were measured by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) in three cell lines and in cotton rats infected with RSV isolates belonging to four genotypes (GA1, ON, GB1, BA). Relative mRNA levels reached steady-state between four and 24 hours post-infection. Steady-state patterns were non-gradient and genotype-specific , where mRNA levels from the G gene exceeded those from the more promoter-proximal nucleocapsid (N) gene across isolates. Transcript stabilities could not account for the non-gradient patterns observed, indicating that relative mRNA levels more strongly reflect transcription than decay. Our results indicate that gene expression from a small but diverse set of RSV genotypes is non-gradient and genotype-dependent. We propose novel models of RSV transcription that can account for non-gradient transcription.
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), an enveloped RNA virus with a non-segmented single-stranded negative-sense genome, is the primary cause of hospitalization in the first year of life for children in most parts of the world. The global... more
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), an enveloped RNA virus with a non-segmented single-stranded negative-sense genome, is the primary cause of hospitalization in the first year of life for children in most parts of the world. The global estimate in 2005 indicated that at least 33.8 million episodes of RSV associated acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) occurred worldwide in children younger than 5 years and most of these deaths occurred in developing countries. This study aimed to systematically aggregate and analyze published epidemiological data on the seasonality of RSV lower respiratory tract infections in young children in developing countries. Articles in English published between 2002 and 2014 were identified through literature searches in PubMed, Web of knowledge, and Embase. The season in which RSV epidemics occur typically depends on geographical location and altitude. It is likely that several factors interact in complex ways in the development of epidemics under favorable climatic conditions.
Background. Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are leading pediatric pathogens. However, risk factors for severe hMPV disease remain unknown. We comparatively assessed environmental, host, and viral... more
Background. Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are leading pediatric pathogens. However, risk factors for severe hMPV disease remain unknown. We comparatively assessed environmental, host, and viral determinants for severe hMPV and RSV infections. Methods. We studied a prospective cohort of >1000 children aged <3 years hospitalized in or presenting to a pediatric clinic for acute respiratory infection. We collected clinical data at enrollment and 1-month follow-up and tested nasopharyngeal secretions for respiratory viruses. Disease severity was defined as hospitalization and was also assessed with a severity score (1 point/variable) calculated on the basis of fraction of inhaled O(2) ≥ 30%, hospitalization >5 days, and pediatric intensive care unit admission. Results. hMPV was identified in 58 of 305 outpatient children (19.0%) and 69 of 734 hospitalized children (9.4%), second only to RSV (48.2% and 63.6%, respectively). In multivariate regression analysis of hMPV cases, age <6 months and household crowding were associated with hospitalization. Among hospitalized patients, risk factors for severe hMPV disease were female sex, prematurity, and genotype B infection. Age <6 months, comorbidities, and household crowding were risk factors for RSV hospitalization; breast-feeding and viral coinfection were protective. Age <6 months and prematurity were associated with severe RSV cases among hospitalized children. Conclusions. hMPV and RSV severity risk factors may differ slightly. These findings will inform hMPV prevention strategies.
The M2-1 protein of the important pathogen human respiratory syncytial virus is a zinc-binding transcription antiterminator that is essential for viral gene expression. We present the crystal structure of full-length M2-1 protein in its... more
The M2-1 protein of the important pathogen human respiratory syncytial virus is a zinc-binding transcription antiterminator that is essential for viral gene expression. We present the crystal structure of full-length M2-1 protein in its native tetrameric form at a resolution of 2.5 Å. The structure reveals that M2-1 forms a disk-like assembly with tetramerization driven by a long helix forming a four-helix bundle at its center, further stabilized by contact between the zinc-binding domain and adjacent protomers. The tetramerization helix is linked to a core domain responsible for RNA binding activity by a flexible region on which lie two functionally critical serine residues that are phosphorylated during infection. The crystal structure of a phosphomimetic M2-1 variant revealed altered charge density surrounding this flexible region although its position was unaffected. Structure-guided mutagenesis identified residues that contributed to RNA binding and antitermination activity, revealing a strong correlation between these two activities, and further defining the role of phosphorylation in M2-1 antitermination activity. The data we present here identify surfaces critical for M2-1 function that may be targeted by antiviral compounds.
Objectives To evaluate the safety and tolerability of palivizumab for RSV prophylaxis in high-risk children in everyday practice. Methods High-risk children prophylaxed against RSV infection were recruited into a prospective,... more
Objectives To evaluate the safety and tolerability of palivizumab for RSV prophylaxis in high-risk children in everyday practice. Methods High-risk children prophylaxed against RSV infection were recruited into a prospective, observational, Canadian RSV Evaluation Study of Palivizumab (CARESS) registry with active, serious adverse event (SAE) monitoring from 2008 to 2013. SAE reports were systematically collected and assessed for severity and relationship to palivizumab. Data were analyzed by Chi-square or Fisher Exact Tests to examine group differences in proportions. Results 13025 infants received 57392 injections. Hospitalizations for respiratory-related illness (RIH) were reported in 915 patients, and SAEs other than RIH were reported in 52 patients. Of these, 6 (0.05%) patients had a total of 14 hypersensitivity reactions that were deemed possibly or probably related to palivizumab (incidence: 2.8 per 10,000 patient-months). The SAEs of 42 patients were assessed as not related to palivizumab. SAEs in the remaining 4 patients were not classifiable as their records were incomplete. There were no significant demographic predictors of SAE occurrence. Conclusions Under active surveillance, a small proportion of infants in the CARESS registry experienced SAEs that had a potential relationship with palivizumab and these appeared to be