Javier Martínez‐Sanz, Sergio Gilaberte Reyzábal, Juan Salillas, María Rosa Lago Gómez, M. Elena Rodríguez‐Zurita, Miguel Torralba
Summary
Many epidemiological studies of RSV have observed a sharp drop off of RSV infections with the coming of influenza season in late December and early January. Whether or not RSV incidence falls off with the influx of influenza or is masked by the presentation of clinically similar infections that are attributed instead to influenza has been a prominent question in RSV epidemiology. This prospective study of patients ≥ 16 years has provided evidence suggesting that RSV does persist into influenza season, and stresses the importance of making the distinction between the two infections, as a higher proportion of patients with RSV required antibiotic usage. A similar study in a population that is distinctly susceptible to severe respiratory infection would be interesting, as rates of severe infections for each pathogen may differ in these populations.
Full article on PubMed.