HOSPITALIZATIONS FOR RESPIRATORY SYNCYTIAL VIRUS-INFECTION IN ALASKA NATIVE CHILDREN

To characterize the epidemiology of Alaska Native children hospitalize d for respiratory syncytial virus infections, we reviewed records of h ospitalizations during the winter seasons of 1991 to 1992 and 1992 to 1993 at a hospital in Anchorage and a rural hospital in the Yukon Kusk okwim Delta (YKD) region of southwestern Alaska. The median age of hos pitalization for respiratory syncytial virus infection was 2 months of age for YKD residents and 4.5 months for Anchorage residents, Sixteen percent of the hospitalized YKD children were less than 1 month of ag e, whereas the same was true for only 3% of the Anchorage children. Ei ght percent of the YKD patients required mechanical ventilation, where as none of the Anchorage patients required ventilation. The median hos pital stay was 4.8 days for YKD patients and 3.2 days for Anchorage pa tients. Hospitalization rates for infants less than 1 year of age were 33/1000 for Alaska Natives in Anchorage and 100/1000 for those in the YKD region. The extremely high hospitalization rate, especially among very young infants in the rural YKD region, points to a need for earl y preventive efforts.