PROMISE project to release its first paper ‘Burden of respiratory syncytial virus-associated acute respiratory infections during pregnancy’

What research topics were explored?

Led by the Centre for Global Health at the University of Edinburgh, this article delves into leading RSV-related matters, including:

• The proportion of pregnant individuals (PI) with acute respiratory infections (ARI) test positive for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)
• The incidence rate of antenatal RSV infection among PI
• The number of RSV-associated hospitalisations among PI with ARI
• The number of deaths associated with RSV infections among PI with ARI
• The perinatal outcomes associated with RSV infections in PI with ARI

What new results were found?

• The latest pooled data reveals an incidence rate of RSV infection episodes in pregnant individuals at 26.0 per 1000 person-years.
• Hospitalisation rates due to RSV ranged between 2.4 to 3.0 per 1000 person-years based on two studies.
• Out of THE five studies covering 4708 pregnant individuals, none reported RSV-associated deaths.
• Comparing RSV-positive and RSV-negative pregnancies:
  • No differences were observed in risks for miscarriage, stillbirth, low birth weight, or small for gestational age.
  • RSV-positive pregnancies showed a higher likelihood of pre-term delivery with an odds ratio of 3.6.

According to leading author and research fellow Sebastien Kenmoe from the University of Edinburgh, insights from this study in the Journal of Infectious Diseases could shape global vaccine policy decisions.

What impact could be expected?

The findings obtained in this paper emphasise two primary items:

• Current data on RSV-associated hospitalizations, deaths, and perinatal outcomes in PI is limited.
• There’s an urgent need for more comprehensive research in this domain.

Secondly, with the foreseen launch of maternal RSV vaccines in autumn, it will be pivotal for researchers to understand the effects of RSV infection during pregnancy and its burden compared to other high-risk groups. These data will be crucial, because countries will be considering how to integrate RSV vaccines in maternal vaccination schemes aimed at safeguarding infants.

Where to read the article?

If you’re interested in discovering more, then read the full article.

Contact information:

Sebastien Kenmoe | Research Fellow
Centre for Global Health | Usher Institute
The University of Edinburgh | MacKenzie House, 30 West Richmond Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9DX
Email: sebastien.kenmoe@ed.ac.uk | Tel.: +44(0) 1316 511 590