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
. 2005;22(7):577-87.
doi: 10.2165/00002512-200522070-00004.

Respiratory syncytial virus infection in elderly adults

Ann R Falsey  1 , Edward E Walsh
Affiliations
Review

Respiratory syncytial virus infection in elderly adults

Ann R Falsey et al. Drugs Aging. 2005.

Abstract

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is now recognised as a significant problem in elderly adults. Epidemiological evidence indicates the impact of RSV in older adults may be similar to non-pandemic influenza, both in the community and in long-term care facilities. Attack rates in nursing homes are approximately 5-10% per year with significant rates of pneumonia (10-20%) and death (2-5%). Estimates using US health care databases and viral surveillance results over a 9-year period indicate that RSV infection causes approximately 10,000 all-cause deaths annually among persons >64 years of age. In contrast, influenza A accounted for approximately 37,000 yearly deaths in the same age group. The clinical features of RSV infection may be difficult to distinguish from those of influenza but include nasal congestion, cough, wheezing and low-grade fever. Older persons with underlying heart and lung disease and immunocompromised patients are at highest risk for RSV infection-related pneumonia and death. Diagnosis of RSV infection in adults is difficult because viral culture and antigen detection are insensitive, presumably because of low viral titres. The combination of serology and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction assay offers the best sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of RSV but unfortunately these techniques are not widely available; consequently, most adult RSV disease goes unrecognised. Although treatment of RSV infection in the elderly is largely supportive, early therapy with ribavirin and intravenous gamma-globulin improves survival in immunocompromised persons. An effective RSV vaccine has not yet been developed. Therefore, prevention of RSV is limited to standard infection control practices, such as hand washing and the use of gowns and gloves.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Collins P. The molecular biology of human respiratory syncytial viruses (RSV) of the genus Pneumovirus. In: Kingsbury DW, editor. The Paramyxoviruses. New York: Plenum Publishing; 1991. pp. 103–62.
    1. Anderson LJ, Hierholzer JC, Tsou C, et al. Antigenic characterizaton of respiratory syncytial virus strains with monoclonal antibodies. J Infect Dis. 1985;151:626–33. doi: 10.1093/infdis/151.4.626. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hendry RM, Talis AL, Godfrey E, et al. Concurrent circulation of antigenically distinct strains of respiratory syncytial virus during community outbreaks. J Infect Dis. 1986;153:291–7. doi: 10.1093/infdis/153.2.291. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hendry RM, Fernie BF, Anderson LJ, et al. Antigenic and epidemiologic analysis of distinct strains of respiratory syncytial virus from two successive community outbreaks. In: Mahy B, Kolakofsky D, et al., editors. Biology of negative strand viruses. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Publishers BV; 1987. pp. 397–403.
    1. van den Hoogen BG, De Jong JC, Groen J, et al. A newly discovered human pneumovirus isolated from young children with respiratory tract disease. Nat Med. 2001;7:719–24. doi: 10.1038/89098. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms