Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2016 Aug;16(8):e153-63.
doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(16)00119-5. Epub 2016 Jun 15.

Vaccination against respiratory syncytial virus in pregnancy: a suitable tool to combat global infant morbidity and mortality?

Anja Saso  1 , Beate Kampmann  2
Affiliations
Review

Vaccination against respiratory syncytial virus in pregnancy: a suitable tool to combat global infant morbidity and mortality?

Anja Saso et al. Lancet Infect Dis. 2016 Aug.

Abstract

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most important viral cause of pneumonia in early childhood (ie, younger than 2 years), responsible for high infant morbidity and mortality worldwide. It is widely accepted that an effective vaccine against RSV would have a major impact on child health globally. Despite the setbacks of the clinical trials in the 1960s, there has been a recent and significant revival of interest in vaccines against RSV, with several promising candidates undergoing evaluation. In this Review, we describe the epidemiological and immunological background to RSV infection and subsequently focus on the promising pipeline of RSV vaccine development. We discuss the potential for implementation of a safe and immunogenic RSV vaccine within the context of global health and with regards to a range of strategies, including vaccination of women during pregnancy, which is likely to emerge as a beneficial and feasible public health tool. This approach would provide interim protection to vulnerable, RSV-naive infants and other high risk groups, in which the burden of admission to hospital and death is greatest. Extending research and implementation from resource-rich to resource-poor settings is required to enhance our understanding of RSV immunity and inform vaccine development and delivery strategies for all settings. We summarise key outstanding issues for researchers and policy makers to understand the interplay of biological and non-biological factors affecting design and distribution of a successful RSV vaccine globally.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

MeSH terms

Substances