Respiratory Virus Surveillance Among Children with Acute Respiratory Illnesses — New Vaccine Surveillance Network, United States, 2016–2021
Ariana Perez, Joana Y Lively, Aaron T. Curns, Geoffrey A. Weinberg, Natasha Halasa, Mary Allen Staat, Peter G. Szilagyi, Laura S Stewart, Monica McNeal, Benjamin R Clopper, Yingtao Zhou, Brett Whitaker, Elizabeth LeMasters, Elizabeth Harker, Janet A. Englund, Eileen J. Klein, Rangaraj Selvarangan, Christopher J. Harrison, Julie A. Boom, Leila C. Sahni, Marian G. Michaels, John V. Williams, Gayle Langley, Susan I. Gerber, Angela P. Campbell, Aron J. Hall, Brian Rha, Meredith McMorrow, New Vaccine Surveillance Network Collaborators, New Vaccine Surveillance Network Collaborators, Bonnie Strelitz, Kirsten Lacombe, Mary E. Moffatt, Jennifer E. Schuster, Chelsea Rohlfs, Miranda Howard, Yesenia Romero, James D. Chappell, Pedro A. Piedra, Vasanthi Avadhanula, Wende Fregoe, Christina Albertin, Robert H. Hickey, Judith M. Martin
Abstract
with ARI, 51,441 (57%) were enrolled, nearly 75% of whom were aged <5 years; 43% were hospitalized. Infants aged <1 year accounted for the largest proportion (38%) of those hospitalized. The most common pathogens detected were RV/EV and RSV. Before the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, detected respiratory viruses followed previously described seasonal trends, with annual peaks of influenza and RSV in late fall and winter (7,8). After the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and implementation of associated pandemic nonpharmaceutical interventions and community mitigation measures, many respiratory viruses circulated at lower-than-expected levels during April 2020-May 2021. Beginning in summer 2021, NVSN detected higher than anticipated enrollment of hospitalized children as well as atypical interseasonal circulation of RSV. Further analyses of NVSN data and continued surveillance are vital in highlighting risk factors for severe disease and health disparities, measuring the effectiveness of vaccines and monoclonal antibody-based prophylactics, and guiding policies to protect young children from pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2, influenza, and RSV.