DOI: 10.2807/1560-7917.es.2024.29.4.2400033 ISSN: 1560-7917
Impact of nirsevimab prophylaxis on paediatric respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-related hospitalisations during the initial 2023/24 season in Luxembourg
Corinna Ernst, Dritan Bejko, Leo Gaasch, Emilie Hannelas, Isaline Kahn, Charlotte Pierron, Nesrine Del Lero, Claude Schalbar, Elsa Do Carmo, Michel Kohnen, Emmanuelle Andlauer, Pauline Hublart, Silvana Masi, Isabel de la Fuente Garcia, Anne Vergison, Joël Mossong- Virology
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
- Epidemiology
After Luxembourg introduced nirsevimab immunisation against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), estimated neonatal coverage was 84% (1,277 doses/1,524 births) in 2023. That year, paediatric RSV-related hospitalisations, especially concerning infants < 6 months old (n = 72) seemed to decrease compared to the same period in 2022 (n = 232). In 2023, hospitalised children’s mean age increased (14.4 months vs 7.8 months in 2022; p < 0.001) and hospital-stay length decreased (3.2 days vs 5.1 days; p < 0.001). In infants < 6 months old, intensive-care unit admissions appeared to drop (n = 28 vs 9). This suggests that nirsevimab prophylaxis reduced severe RSV infections, particularly in infants < 6 months old, thereby alleviating healthcare strain.