RSV Prevention — Breakthroughs and Challenges

Since the discovery of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in 1956, the pathogen has become well recognized as a leading cause of acute respiratory illness worldwide. By 2 years of age, most children have been infected with RSV, with illnesses ranging from mild upper respiratory tract infection to severe and sometimes fatal lower respiratory tract infection. In 2019, there were an estimated 33 million cases of acute lower respiratory tract infection due to RSV, resulting in 3.6 million hospitalizations and 26,300 in-hospital deaths among children younger than 5 years of age worldwide.1 In addition, 101,400 deaths were attributable to RSV.1 However, . . .