RSV ComNet III: Measuring the clinical and socioeconomic burden of RSV in young children (< 5 years) in primary care in six European countries, 2021-2023

Duration: Nov 2021 - Apr 2024

Background

The RSV ComNet III Study is the extension of the RSV II Study. RSV ComNet III is titled 'Burden of RSV in the community. Measuring the clinical and socioeconomic burden of RSV in young children (< 5 years) in primary care in five European countries 2021-2022'. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Omicron variant) data collection was disrupted during the 2021-2022 season and extended over the winter of 2022-2023. In addition, a sixth country was added to the study.
The first RSV Comnet Study was Disease burden of RSV infections in young children (< 5 years) in primary care. A pilot study in Italy and the Netherlands in the winter of 2019/20.

Context

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of acute lower respiratory tract infections in children. By the age of one year, 60-70% of children are infected with RSV and almost all children are infected by the age of two years. In western countries, mortality from RSV is rare. The rate of hospitalization in young children is estimated at 0.6 to 42.7 cases per 1000 children, with higher rates in younger children. Accurate estimates of the burden of RSV, including in primary care, are needed to assess the overall impact of RSV on society. This knowledge is critical for policy makers to make informed decisions about the introduction of new RSV interventions.

Aim

The overall aim of the RSV ComNet Study is to measure the clinical and socioeconomic burden of disease of RSV in young children (< 5 years) in primary care. The project is divided into several subprojects.

Preceding subprojects are: :
RSV ComNet I: develop and evaluate measurement protocol and perform first measurement in Italy and the Netherlands (2019-2020)
RSV ComNet II: using the validated RSV ComNet protocol to measure the disease burden in Italy, the Netherlands and England (2020-2021)
RSV ComNet III: measure the disease burden of RSV in 6 European countries using the validated RSV ComNet protocol (2021-2022 and 2022-2023)

Methods

In the winter of 2021/2022, the data collection is extended to five European countries, namely the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Belgium, and in the winter 2022-2023 data collection was started in France.

Results

Two papers on the data collected in the study:
1. The first focuses on the clinical burden of RSV in young children in primary care, including complications after an RSV episode
2. The second on the socioeconomic burden, including costs, and population-based estimates of RSV infections in young children in primary care.
And
3. A systematic literature review to investigate the incidence rate of RSV infections in young children in primary care.