title: Epidemiological changes of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections in Israel.
abstract: RSV is the leading cause of lower respiratory-tract infections in infants and therefore demands in-depth epidemiological characterization. We investigated here the distribution of RSV types in Israel between the years 2005-2012. Clinical samples were collected from 11,018 patients hospitalized due to respiratory illnesses and were evaluated for the presence of various respiratory viruses, including RSV A and RSV B. Until 2008, each year was characterized by the presence of one dominant type of RSV. However, from 2008, both RSV A and B types were detected at significant levels, particularly among infants aged 0-2 years. Furthermore, significant changes in the RSV A and RSV B subtypes circulating in Israel since 2008 were observed. Finally, we demonstrate that, irrespectively of the changes observed in RSV epidemiology, when the pandemic H1N1pdm09 influenza virus appeared in 2009, RSV infections were delayed and were detected when infection with H1N1pdm09 had declined.
authors.affiliation: The Mina & Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Shira
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hirsh
authors.affiliation: Central Virology Laboratory, Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Musa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hindiyeh
authors.affiliation: Central Virology Laboratory, Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Liat
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kolet
authors.affiliation: Central Virology Laboratory, Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Liora
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Regev
authors.affiliation: Central Virology Laboratory, Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Hilda
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sherbany
authors.affiliation: Central Virology Laboratory, Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Karnit
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yaary
authors.affiliation: The Mina & Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel; Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Ella
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mendelson
authors.affiliation: Central Virology Laboratory, Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mandelboim
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D018357:Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000266:history; D012136:Respiratory Syncytial Viruses / Q000235:genetics*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D012367:RNA, Viral