New Delhi, June 5 || A single dose of the long-acting antibody nirsevimab developed to prevent respiratory syncytial virus infections in infants can halve hospitalisations for bronchiolitis, according to a study.
Bronchiolitis is an acute viral infection that affects the respiratory system of children under one year of age mainly in the first six months of life with greater frequency between November and March.
It is often associated with respiratory syncytial virus infection (in about 3 out of 4 cases) that can cause respiratory failure, especially in children under one year of age - among babies under six months old.
In a first, the real-world study analysed the concrete impact of nirsevimab by comparing European countries – Spain, the UK, and Italy -- with different health policies.
The data, collected from 68 Catalan hospitals in Spain and five hospitals in the UK and Italy, showed that in children under 6 months in Catalonia, hospitalisations for bronchiolitis have almost halved compared to the average of previous seasons.