J Infect

BackgroundThere are limited data on the epidemiology of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) illness in HIV-infected adults or the elderly in Africa. We studied the epidemiology of RSV-associated severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) hospitalizations in adults in South Africa from 2009 through 2013.MethodsIndividuals admitted to sentinel surveillance hospitals were investigated by respiratory tract swabs for RSV, using a multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction assay. The incidence of RSV-associated SARI was calculated for the one site with population denominators.ResultsOf 7796 participants investigated, 329 (4%) tested positive for RSV. On multivariable analysis, HIV-infected individuals with RSV-associated SARI had greater odds of being in the age groups 18\u201344 and 45\u201364 years (odd ratios (OR) 26.3; 95% confidence interval (CI) 6.2\u2013112.1 and OR 11.4; 95% CI 2.6\u201350.0) compared with those 6565 years and being female (OR 2.7; 95% CI 1.4\u20135.4). The relative risk of hospitalization with RSV-associated SARI was 12\u201318 times higher in HIV infected individual compared to that of HIV-uninfected.ConclusionThe incidence of RSV-associated SARI was higher in HIV-infected individuals and those aged 65 years and older. Further studies are warranted to describe the disease association of RSV detected in adults with SARI.20172017-12-03T00:00:00Z001/WHO_/World Health Organization/InternationalU01 IP001048/IP/NCIRD CDC HHS/United StatesU51 IP000155/IP/NCIRD CDC HHS/United StatesU51 IP000528/IP/NCIRD CDC HHS/United States28676408PMC5712433766