The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on RSV outbreaks in children: A multicenter study from China.

Objective: The aim of the study is to describe the season of RSV prevalence in China during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: This multicenter retrospective study analyzed the epidemiology of pediatric RSV infections and the possible factors contributing to its variations in China from January 1, 2019, to October 31, 2022.
Results: A total of 872,565 children were included. During the pandemic, RSV detection rate increased across various regions, including South China, East China, Central China, and Northeast China. From 2019 to 2021, the detection rates of RSV showed an increasing trend among children aged <1 year, 1-2 years, and 3-5 years, but decreased in 2022. Among those tested positive for RSV, the proportion of children under 1 year old significantly decreased during the pandemic. The spring season of RSV in China in 2020 was shortened, and most regions experienced a summer season of RSV in 2021. This shift led to a year-round RSV outbreak throughout 2021. After April 2022, RSV positive rate significantly decreased, and no clear seasonal pattern was observed.
Conclusion: Our study found that the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the seasonal pattern of RSV outbreaks in China, leading to increased RSV positive rate and off-season outbreaks.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest This project is supported in part by MSD R&D (CHINA) CO., LTD. We declare that we have no conflicts of interest related to this research work.
(Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)