The Impact of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Exposure on Respiratory Syncytial Virus-associated Severe Respiratory Illness in South African Infants, 2011-2016.

From 2011 through 2016, we conducted surveillance for severe respiratory illness in infants. Human immunodeficiency virus exposure significantly increased the risk of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-associated hospitalization in infants aged <5 months. More than 60% of RSV-associated hospitalizations occurred in the first 4 months of life and may be preventable through maternal vaccination or birth-dose monoclonal antibody.

The Role of Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Influenza- and Respiratory Syncytial Virus-associated Hospitalizations in South African Children, 2011-2016.

BACKGROUND: Data describing influenza- or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-associated hospitalized illness in children aged <5 years in Africa are limited. METHODS: During 2011-2016, we conducted surveillance for severe respiratory illness (SRI) in children aged <5 years in 3 South African hospitals. Nasopharyngeal aspirates were tested for influenza and RSV using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. We estimated rates of influenza- and RSV-associated hospitalized SRI by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status and compared children who tested positive for influenza vs RSV using multivariable penalized logistic regression. RESULTS: Among 3650 hospitalized children, 203 (5.6%) tested positive for influenza viruses, 874 (23.9%) for RSV, and 19 (0.5%) for both. The median age of children hospitalized with influenza was 13.9 months vs 4.4 months for RSV (P < .01). Annual influenza-associated hospitalization rates per 100000 were highest among infants aged 6-11 months (545; 95% confidence interval [CI], 409-703), while RSV-associated hospitalization rates were highest in infants aged 0-2 months (6593; 95% CI, 5947-7217). HIV exposure was associated with increased incidence of influenza- and RSV-associated hospitalization in infants aged 0-5 months, with relative risk (RR) 2.2 (95% CI, 1.4-3.4) and 1.4 (95% CI, 1.3-1.6), respectively. HIV infection was associated with increased incidence of influenza- and RSV-associated hospitalization in all age groups; RR 2.7 (95% CI, 2.0-3.5) and 3.8 (95% CI, 3.1-4.8), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Influenza- and RSV-associated hospitalizations are common among South African infants. HIV infection and HIV exposure in infants increase risk of influenza- and RSV-associated hospitalization.

Congenital Rubella Syndrome Surveillance in South Africa Using a Sentinel Site Approach: A Cross-sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) includes disorders associated with intrauterine rubella infection. Incidence of CRS is higher in countries with no rubella-containing vaccines (RCV) in their immunization schedules. In the World Health Organization African region, RCVs are being introduced as part of the 2012-2020 global measles and rubella strategic plan. This study aimed to describe the epidemiology of confirmed CRS in South Africa prior to introduction of RCVs in the immunization schedule. METHODS: This was a descriptive study with 28 sentinel sites reporting laboratory-confirmed CRS cases in all 9 provinces of South Africa. In the retrospective phase (2010 to 2014), CRS cases were retrieved from medical records, and in the prospective phase (2015 to 2017) clinicians at study sites reported CRS cases monthly. RESULTS: There were 42 confirmed CRS cases in the retrospective phase and 53 confirmed CRS cases in the prospective phase. Most frequently reported birth defects were congenital heart disease and cataracts. The median age of mothers of CRS cases was 21 years in the retrospective phase (range: 11 to 38 years) and 22 years in the prospective phase (range: 15 to 38 years). CONCLUSION: Baseline data on laboratory-confirmed CRS will enable planning and monitoring of RCV implementation in the South African Expanded Programme on Immunization program. Ninety-eight percent of mothers of infants with CRS were young women 14-30 years old, indicating a potential immunity gap in this age group for consideration during introduction of RCV.

Severity of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Lower Respiratory Tract Infection With Viral Coinfection in HIV-Uninfected Children.

Background: Molecular diagnostics enable sensitive detection of respiratory viruses, but their clinical significance remains unclear in pediatric lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI). We aimed to determine whether viral coinfections increased life-threatening disease in a large cohort. Methods: Molecular testing was performed for respiratory viruses in nasopharyngeal aspirates collected from children aged <5 years within 24 hours of hospital admission during sentinel surveillance for severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) hospitalization conducted in South Africa during February 2009-December 2013. The primary outcome was life-threatening disease, defined as mechanical ventilation, intensive care unit admission, or death. Results: Of 2322 HIV-uninfected children with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-associated LRTI, 1330 (57.3%) had RSV monoinfection, 38 (1.6%) had life-threatening disease, 575 (24.8%) had rhinovirus, 347 (14.9%) had adenovirus (ADV), and 30 (1.3%) had influenza virus. RSV and any other viral coinfection was not associated with severe disease, ADV coinfection had increased odds of life-threatening disease (adjusted OR, 3.4; 95% CI, 1.6-7.2; P = .001), and influenza coinfection had increased odds of life-threatening disease and prolonged length of stay (adjusted OR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.0-4.5; P = .05) compared with RSV monoinfection. Conclusions: RSV coinfection with any respiratory virus is not associated with more severe disease when compared to RSV alone in this study. However, increased life-threatening disease in RSV-ADV and RSV-influenza coinfection warrants further study.

The performance of different case definitions for severe influenza surveillance among HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected children aged <5 years in South Africa, 2011-2015.

In 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) proposed a new severe influenza surveillance case definition, which has not been evaluated in a high human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence setting. Our study aimed to assess the performance of this proposed case definition in identifying influenza among HIV-uninfected and HIV-infected children aged <5 years in South Africa. We prospectively enrolled children aged <5 years hospitalised with physician-diagnosed lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) at two surveillance sites from January 2011 to December 2015. Epidemiologic and clinical data were collected. We tested nasopharyngeal aspirates for influenza using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. We used logistic regression to assess factors associated with influenza positivity among HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected children. We calculated sensitivity and specificity for different signs and symptoms and combinations of these for laboratory-confirmed influenza. We enrolled 2,582 children <5 years of age with LRTI of whom 87% (2,257) had influenza and HIV results, of these 14% (318) were HIV-infected. The influenza detection rate was 5% (104/1,939) in HIV-uninfected and 5% (16/318) in HIV-infected children. Children with measured fever (≥38°C) were two times more likely to test positive for influenza than those without measured fever among the HIV-uninfected (OR 2.2, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.5-3.4; p<0.001). No significant association was observed between fever and influenza infection among HIV-infected children. Cough alone had sensitivity of 95% (95% CI 89-98%) in HIV-uninfected and of 100% (95% CI 79-100%) in HIV-infected children but low specificity: 7% (95% CI 6-8%) and 6% (95% CI 3-9%) in HIV-uninfected and HIV-infected children, respectively. The WHO post-2014 case definition for severe acute respiratory illness (SARI-an acute respiratory infection with history of fever or measured fever of ≥ 38°C and cough; with onset within the last ten days and requires hospitalization), had a sensitivity of 66% (95% CI 56-76%) and specificity of 46% (95% CI 44-48%) among HIV-uninfected and a sensitivity of 63% (95% CI 35-84%) and a specificity of 42% (95% CI 36-48%) among HIV-infected children. The sensitivity and specificity of the WHO post-2014 case definition for SARI were similar among HIV-uninfected and HIV-infected children. Our findings support the adoption of the 2014 WHO case definition for children aged <5 years irrespective of HIV infection status.

Epidemiology of Acute Lower Respiratory Tract Infection in HIV-Exposed Uninfected Infants.

BACKGROUND: Increased morbidity and mortality from lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) has been suggested in HIV-exposed uninfected (HEU) children; however, the contribution of respiratory viruses is unclear. We studied the epidemiology of LRTI hospitalization in HIV-unexposed uninfected (HUU) and HEU infants aged <6 months in South Africa. METHODS: We prospectively enrolled hospitalized infants with LRTI from 4 provinces from 2010 to 2013. Using polymerase chain reaction, nasopharyngeal aspirates were tested for 10 viruses and blood for pneumococcal DNA. Incidence for 2010-2011 was estimated at 1 site with population denominators. RESULTS: We enrolled 3537 children aged <6 months. HIV infection and exposure status were determined for 2507 (71%), of whom 211 (8%) were HIV infected, 850 (34%) were HEU, and 1446 (58%) were HUU. The annual incidence of LRTI was elevated in HEU (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.4; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3-1.5) and HIV infected (IRR 3.8; 95% CI 3.3-4.5), compared with HUU infants. Relative incidence estimates were greater in HEU than HUU, for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV; IRR 1.4; 95% CI 1.3-1.6) and human metapneumovirus-associated (IRR 1.4; 95% CI 1.1-2.0) LRTI, with a similar trend observed for influenza (IRR 1.2; 95% CI 0.8-1.8). HEU infants overall, and those with RSV-associated LRTI had greater odds (odds ratio 2.1, 95% CI 1.1-3.8, and 12.2, 95% CI 1.7-infinity, respectively) of death than HUU. CONCLUSIONS: HEU infants were more likely to be hospitalized and to die in-hospital than HUU, including specifically due to RSV. This group should be considered a high-risk group for LRTI.