Pneumonia due to Respiratory syncytial virus

Definition

Respiratory syncytial virus is the major cause of lower respiratory tract illness in infants and young children, and accounts for up to 40% of pneumonia. Most severe infections occur in infants less than 6 months of age, and almost all primary infections are symptomatic, with 40% or more associated with bronchiolitis or pneumonia. Respiratory syncytial virus, often nosocomially acquired, causes severe lower respiratory tract disease in immunosuppressed children and adults. Upper respi¬ratory tract illness usually precedes the development of pneumonia, and complicating sinusitis and otitis media are common. Two thirds or more of the bone marrow transplant recipients who develop RSV pneumonia succumb without treatment.[1]

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