Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV): Burden estimation and the development of a monoclonal antibody-based point of care diagnostic

Duration of the project:?14 February 2025 – 13 February 2028

Study funded by:?Indian Council of Medical 亚洲通_亚洲通官网 (ICMR), Government of India

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RSV has become a major public health challenge for both children and adults worldwide, as it is the second most common cause of death for children under one year of age. In India, RSV poses a significant problem among children and the elderly population. Despite the studies focusing on the epidemiology, the burden of the disease is not well documented.

It is a multicentric study, including major tertiary care centers in Kerala and Karnataka state, coordinated by the Institute of Advanced Virology, Trivandrum, to determine the burden also to obtain evidence-based clinic-epidemiological data on respiratory syncytial virus infection. This will provide a better understanding of RSV disease severity, particularly among vulnerable groups such as young children, the elderly population, pregnant women, and those with underlying medical conditions. This multisite approach enables us to gather more generalizable data by covering a significant geographical area. RSV has two major subtypes, A and B, and several genotypes exist, causing varying disease severity in the community. We will also carry out the molecular characterization of RSV and its impact on the clinical course of the disease. For developing an effective vaccine /immunotherapy against RSV, there is a need to understand the circulating genotypes and severity among the different age groups. There is a high prevalence of virus-associated respiratory infections among hospitalized children. The development of a point-of-care diagnostic test for RSV would help clinicians make easy decisions about treatment and infection control measures.

Objectives:

- To estimate the burden of respiratory syncytial virus disease among different age groups

- To study the molecular epidemiology of respiratory syncytial virus and to evaluate the severity associated with genotype

- Development of a monoclonal antibody-based rapid diagnostic kit for respiratory syncytial virus