In healthy adults, RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, feels like the common cold with a runny nose, chest congestion and cough. However, it is the second leading cause of death in infants. In fact, nearly 40 percent of infants who contract this widespread virus develop severe bronchiolitis or pneumonia, with 1 to 3 percent hospitalized. Each year, there are about 64 million cases and about 160,000 deaths due to RSV worldwide. Contracting RSV within the first few months of life can make a child more susceptible to developing asthma later in life. The elderly and immune compromised populations, including cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment, also suffer substantial morbidity and mortality. A new publication in Frontiers in Immunology by Stephania Cormier, the LSU Department of Biological Sciences Wiener Chair professor, and colleagues offers new insights for vaccine development, both active and passive, to prevent this deadly disease. This study is of particular interest following the recent failure of ResVax, an RSV vaccine by Novavax, to prevent RSV disease in infants via maternal immunization.
* This article was originally published here
