Features of respiratory syncytial virus

Respiratory syncytial virus infects almost all of us in early childhood and causes most cases of bronchiolitis – the most common reason to be admitted to hospital under 1 year of age in the developed world. Each winter, paediatric wards are tested by predictable epidemics of unpredictable intensity. Trials of vaccination in the 1960s were associated with catastrophic enhanced illness leading to intense research that has enriched immunology and virology as a whole. Treatment is still supportive but with modern facilities and training survival rates are high even in severe disease. Post bronchiolitis wheeze is common and hard to treat but new therapies are being proposed. Possible links between severe bronchiolitis atopy and asthma are still under investigation.