Reducing respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) hospitalization in a lower-income country by vaccinating mothers-to-be and their households

• Main Authors: Samuel PC Brand, Patrick Munywoki, David Walumbe, Matthew J Keeling, David James Nokes
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: eLife Sciences Publications Ltd 2020-03-01
• Series: eLife
• Subjects: RSV; epidemiological modelling; vaccination; intervention forecasting
• Online Access: https://elifesciences.org/articles/47003

Respiratory syncytial virus is the leading cause of lower respiratory tract infection among infants. RSV is a priority for vaccine development. In this study, we investigate the potential effectiveness of a two-vaccine strategy aimed at mothers-to-be, thereby boosting maternally acquired antibodies of infants, and their household cohabitants, further cocooning infants against infection. We use a dynamic RSV transmission model which captures transmission both within households and communities, adapted to the changing demographics and RSV seasonality of a low-income country. Model parameters were inferred from past RSV hospitalisations, and forecasts made over a 10-year horizon. We find that a 50% reduction in RSV hospitalisations is possible if the maternal vaccine effectiveness can achieve 75 days of additional protection for newborns combined with a 75% coverage of their birth household co-inhabitants (~7.5% population coverage).