RSV is less well known than flu but worse

BOSTON, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Respiratory syncytial virus may take a greater toll than the better known seasonal flu among young children, U.S. researchers suggest.

The finding resulted from an analysis at Children's Hospital Boston, based on patients seen in its emergency department during several recent flu seasons.

Study leader Dr. Florence Bourgeois and Dr. Kenneth Mandl, both of Children's Division of Emergency Medicine and the Children's Hospital Informatics Program, said prior studies have shown that by age 3, nearly 100 percent of children are infected with respiratory syncytial virus. Respiratory syncytial virus is the most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in children under age 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

The researchers looked at acute respiratory illnesses in children ages 7 and younger and found patients infected with respiratory syncytial virus had more than twice as many emergency department visits and six times more hospitalizations than those infected with seasonal flu.

The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, respiratory syncytial virus-related illnesses were also twice as likely to lead to additional primary care clinic visits and to antibiotic treatment.