New Delhi, June 5 (IANS) A single dose of the long-acting antibody nirsevimab developed to prevent respiratory syncytial virus infections in infants can halve hospitalisations for bronchiolitis, according to a study.

Bronchiolitis is an acute viral infection that affects the respiratory system of children under one year of age mainly in the first six months of life with greater frequency between November and March.

It is often associated with respiratory syncytial virus infection (in about 3 out of 4 cases) that can cause respiratory failure, especially in children under one year of age – among babies under six months old.

In a first, the real-world study analysed the concrete impact of nirsevimab by comparing European countries – Spain, the UK, and Italy — with different health policies.

The data, collected from 68 Catalan hospitals in Spain and five hospitals in the UK and Italy, showed that in children under 6 months in Catalonia, hospitalisations for bronchiolitis have almost halved compared to the average of previous seasons.

Emergency room admissions for the same age group were also significantly reduced. In contrast, no significant reduction emerged in the other European centres where nirsevimab was not administered.

The study, published in the journal Lancet Regional Health – Europe, “represents an important step in assessing the real effectiveness of new preventive strategies against RSV, comparing for the first time countries with different approaches to its implementation,” said Danilo Buonsenso, a researcher in General and Specialist Paediatrics at the Catholic University, US.

Further, the study showed that nirsevimab’s effect was less pronounced in older children (between six and 23 months), suggesting that the greatest efficacy is concentrated in the first few months of life.

In May, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended all countries use nirsevimab along with a maternal vaccine — RSVpreF — to protect babies against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the leading cause of acute lower respiratory infections in children globally.

While the vaccine can be given during routine antenatal care, nirsevimab is given as a single injection of monoclonal antibodies that starts protecting babies against RSV within a week of administration. It lasts for at least 5 months and can cover the entire RSV season in countries with RSV seasonality.

The global health body recommends that infants receive a single dose of nirsevimab right after birth or before being discharged from a birthing facility.

–IANS

rvt/