Epidemiology of respiratory syncytial virus infection among paediatric patients in Hong Kong: seasonality and disease impact

In a 5-year retrospective survey of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infec tions among hospitalized children, 1340 cases were identified of which, 98. 4% were children < 5 years old with a male:female ratio of 1.5:1. Most case s occurred from April to September showing a significant positive correlati on with temperature and relative humidity. Community-acquired infections ac counted for 92.5% of the cases with a mean hospital stay of 5 days. The est imated annual incidence of RSV infection requiring hospitalization was 2.5/ 1000 children < 5 years old with a mortality of 0.15% among hospitalized ca ses. On average, 248 children were admitted each year to the 1400-bed acute regional hospital accounting for an expenditure of HK $1.94 (similar to US $0.25) million for hospitalization costs which equates to an annual cost i n excess of HK $6.67 (similar to US $0.86) million for the whole of Hong Ko ng. An RSV vaccine should be a priority.