Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Associated Mortality Among Young Infants in Karachi, Pakistan: A Prospective Postmortem Surveillance Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is an important cause of infant morbidity and mortality and a potential target for maternal immunization strategies. However, data on the role of RSV in young infant deaths in developing countries are limited.

Methods

We conducted a community-based mortality surveillance from August 2018-March 2020 for infants ≤6 months in Karachi, Pakistan. We tested (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) nasopharyngeal swabs from deceased infants for presence of RSV. We performed verbal autopsies and calculated odds of RSV-associated mortality with 95% CIs and used multivariable logistic regression to evaluate associations.

Results

We collected 490 nasopharyngeal specimens from 1280 eligible infant deaths. There were 377/490 (7

SUBMITTER: Kazi AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8411247 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature