Adult respiratory syncytial virus disease burden: systematic literature review in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East (2012–2022)

Abstract

Aim: To assess the burden of respiratory syncytial virus-associated disease in older adults (RSV OA), ≥50 years old, in World Health Organization region countries in Africa, the Americas (except for Canada and the USA), Eastern Mediterranean, Europe (except for European Union countries and the UK), South-East Asia, and Western Pacific (except for Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea). Materials & methods: English-language publications published and indexed in Embase (2012 to 29 September 2022) and MEDLINE (2012 to 29 September 2022) were reviewed. RSV OA outcomes of interest: epidemiology, testing/diagnostic methods, clinical/humanistic burden. Results: Nine RSV OA-burden statistics publications were identified from Africa (Kenya, Madagascar, and South Africa), the Americas (Guatemala), Eastern Mediterranean (Morocco), South-East Asia (Thailand), and Western Pacific (Hong Kong). One study described RSV hospital course (9-day median length of stay, 9.4% intensive-care admission rate), and seven studies reported case-fatality ratios (range, 7.5–15.9%). A third (3/9) of the studies investigated uniquely older adult disease. Conclusion: The limited details of RSV OA burden suggest nonetheless that RSV-associated hospitalization courses and mortality rates are substantial. While considerable surveillance needs remain, optimizing RSV vaccine access through immunization programs in these WHO region countries are essential steps to control RSV OA disease burden.