Europe’s project RESCEU sheds new light on the fight against the Respiratory Syncytial Virus and its economic impact

RESCEU scientists publish supplement in Journal of Infectious Diseases revealing impact of RSV, the most common cause of severe respiratory illness in infants and children worldwide.

• Globally, an estimated 33 million young children are diagnosed with RSV each year, over 3 million cases require hospitalisation. Annually, the virus causes 118,000 deaths.
• RSV costs governments around the world nearly 5 billion euros every year. Two potential vaccines and a monoclonal antibody to protect against this virus are in Phase III of the clinical studies.
• The RSV Patient Network organises RSV Awareness Week from 9th – 14th November to educate the public, especially young parents, of RSV symptoms and associated risks such as wheezing and asthma.

Since 2017, a multidisciplinary team of researchers, national and international public health experts, policymakers, pharmaceutical industry and community representatives have been partnering under the umbrella of the Respiratory Syncytial Virus Consortium in Europe (RESCEU) to shed new light into RSV – its epidemiological aspects, diagnostic biomarkers and economic impact — to inform future public health strategies. Scientists involved in this project, funded by the Innovative Medicines Initiative(IMI), have produced a considerable number of scientific publications, compiled now in a supplement published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

RESCEU Press Release 201105