ArticleInfectious diseases and therapy2024
The Burden of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) in Germany: A Comprehensive Data Analysis Suggests Underdetection of Hospitalisations and Deaths in Adults 60 Years and Older.
Article in Infectious diseases and therapy, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Review
- The outpatient economic burden of respiratory syncytial virus infection in adults aged ≥ 60 years in Germany: results from the BUCOSS study.Respiratory research · 2026Observational
- Estimation of the Respiratory Syncytial Virus Hospitalization Burden in Older Adults in the Veneto Region, Italy: A Modeling Study.Infectious diseases and therapy · 2025Article
- Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections in adults: Current trends and recommendations for prevention - a global challenge from a local perspective.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2025Review
- Burden of Severe Disease Associated With Influenza, SARS-CoV-2 and RSV in Spain During the 2024-2025 Winter Season.Influenza and other respiratory viruses · 2025Article
- High seroprevalence and high risk: why are older adults more prone to respiratory syncytial virus?Journal of virology · 2025Review
- RSV Monitoring in Germany: A Critical Overview of Available Surveillance Systems.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) as a Secondary Diagnosis among Hospitalized Patients in Germany: Outcomes and Economic Burden.Infectious diseases and therapy · 2025Article
- Costs and Complications of Respiratory Syncytial Virus and Acute Respiratory Infections in the Adult Population: Analysis of a German Claims Database.PharmacoEconomics - open · 2025Article
- Review
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7 authors.
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Abstract
introductionIn Germany, the estimation of the disease burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in older adults is limited. This makes it challenging for public health decision-makers to develop evidence-based recommendations for newly available vaccines against RSV for individuals aged 60 years and older (60+). This study investigates publicly available data sources in Germany to address the current gaps in evidence regarding the burden of RSV.
methodsHospitalisation databases from the German Federal Statistical Office and national mortality statistic between 2000 and 2023, as well as regular surveillance reports from the national public health institute since 2014, were utilised to extract, combine and analyse data on RSV-related morbidity and mortality. These data were used to triangulate the age-specific burden of RSV.
resultsThe data indicate that the number of RSV-related outpatient consultations ranges between 1,313,100 and 3,911,800 cases per season from 2014/2015 to 2022/2023 for all age groups, with approximately 13.0% of outpatient consultations occurring in adults 60+. The significant increase in hospitalisations over time suggests that heightened testing due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic revealed the underdetection of inpatient RSV cases in pre-pandemic seasons. In the most recent season recorded, 2022/2023, the data show 12,800 RSV-related hospitalisations in adults 60+ (24% of all RSV-related hospitalisations) and 1340 in-hospital deaths in adults 60+ (93% of all RSV-related deaths).
conclusionThe comparison of pre- to post-pandemic seasons strongly suggest up to a sevenfold underdetection of RSV in individuals 60+, and the analysis of in-hospital mortality reveals higher mortality rates compared with the general German mortality statistics. These findings highlight the urgent need to improve surveillance and implement targeted prevention strategies to mitigate the impact of RSV in older adults.
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