title: Prevalence of human respiratory syncytial virus circulating in Iran.
abstract: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of acute respiratory infection during early childhood and is associated with a great burden on patients, parents, and society. While no treatment is yet available, results from recent phase 2 clinical trials of cell-entry inhibitors and RSV vaccines are promising. To prepare for introduction of these novel therapeutics, good understanding of its molecular epidemiology and continuous RSV surveillance data are necessary. This paper provides an overview of RSV prevalence and genotype distribution in Iran from 1996 to 2013. This meta-analysis includes 21 published studies. In total, 775 (18.7%) of 4140 respiratory specimens were positive for RSV infection. The male-female ratio of RSV-positive patients was 1.5:1. Significant peaks of RSV infection were detected during the cold season (November-March). RSV infection was mainly observed in patients <2 years of age. Phylogenetic studies showed that genotypes GA1, GA2, GA5, and BA co-circulated in Iran in 2007-2013. This review highlights the necessity of introducing standard molecular surveillance programs to inform the epidemiological, clinical, and pathological characteristics of various RSV genotypes. Improved understanding of the molecular epidemiology will be useful for development of novel RSV therapeutics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: vsalimi@sina.tums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Vahid
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Salimi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Masoumeh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tavakoli-Yaraki
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Jila
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yavarian
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands; Department of Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Louis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bont
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Talat
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mokhtari-Azad
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D015995:Prevalence; D018357:Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D018113:Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012621:Seasons; D017678:Sex Distribution
keywords: Epidemiology; Iran; Molecular epidemiology; RSV prevalence; Respiratory syncytial virus