Outbreak of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Bronchiolitis in Italy
Giuseppe Indolfi, Massimo Resti, A Zanobini, Chiara Azzari, Ilia Bresesti, Massimo Agosti, Silvia Bressan, Desireé Caselli, Salvatore Cazzato, Marta Luisa Ciofi degli Atti, Liviana Da Dalt, Enrico Felici, Maria Lucia Furnari, Silvia Garazzino, Eloisa Gitto, Marcello Lanari, Davide Perosa, Emanuela Piccotti, Silvia Ricci, Alessandro Rocca, Vittorio Romagnoli, Vincenzo Tipo, Sandra Trapani, Laura Travan, Martina Vardabasso, Pier Vuilleumier
Abstract
To the Editor—Yeoh et al [1] reported the impact of public health measures introduced during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) detections in Western Australian children through winter 2020. A subsequent increase in RSV cases in 2020, with numbers exceeding the median seasonal peak from 2012 to 2019 and a higher median age of the affected cohort, has been reported as the results of a local, Australian prospective surveillance [2]. Relaxed physical-distancing recommendations consequent to the reduction in COVID-19–related public health measures, together with the expanded cohort of RSV-naive patients, including an increased number of older children, coupled with waning population immunity have been considered as being responsible for this marked resurgence [2]. Concerns were raised for RSV control in the Northern Hemisphere, where a shortened season was experienced during the 2020–2021 epidemic season [3...