Prevalence of respiratory syncytial virus infection and associated factors among under five years children with severe acute respiratory illness and influenza like illness in Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Acute respiratory illnesses are among the major global public health problems. It can be caused by a wide variety of micro-organisms and respiratory syncytial viruses (RSV) is considered as among the major pathogens. The prevalence of RSV infections and associated factors are not well understood among under five children in Ethiopia. Objective: To assess the prevalence and associated factors RSV infection among under five children with influenza like illness and severe acute respiratory tract infection visiting influenza sentinel surveillance sites in Ethiopia. Method: A cross-sectional study design was employed utilizing influenza like illness and severe respiratory illness surveillance data from Jan 2021 to Dec 2022 at Ethiopian Public Health Institute. Data with RSV real time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test results were extracted and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science software version 20.Descriptive statistics were used for categorical variables including the prevalence. Binary logistic regression and multi-variable analysis were done to assess the association of variables with RSV RT-PCR positivity rate. Variables with a P-value below 0.05 in the multi-variable analysis were considered to have statistically significant association. Result: A total of 2234 cases were included in to the analysis. The overall RSV positivity rate was 16.2%. The RSV positivity was highest among children under one year of age (22.8%) and during the autumn season (24.8%). The RSV positivity rate was significantly associated with age under 1 years [AOR 2.8, 95% CI (1.89-4.15)] and 1 – 2 years [AOR 1.9, 95%CI (1.26-2.73). Additionally, autumn season was significantly associated with RSV test positivity [AOR 1.67, 95% CI (1.17-2.38)]. Conclusion and Recommendation: The study revealed that considerably large RSV positivity was detected among children under five years of age in Ethiopia. Prevention and control of RSV infection and case management procedures should be targeted to minimize respiratory tract infection among children. Moreover, further studies on the RSV viral genotype, clinical characteristics and diseases outcome need to be conducted for better understanding of the virus and disease caused outcome.... Thesis available at Addis Continental Institute of Public Health Library