Race to control ‘tripledemic’ as cases of RSV in children sweep US and Europe

Spike in respiratory syncytial virus as well as Covid and flu pushing many hospitals close to brink

Before Covid, few people had heard of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Increasingly, though, this common cause of pneumonia and bronchiolitis (airway inflammation) is filling up hospital beds across Europe and the Americas. Combined with rising admissions for other respiratory infections, including influenza and Covid, it is pushing some healthcare systems close to the brink of collapse.

In its latest report, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said a number of countries had been experiencing unusually early increases in RSV detections, with rising paediatric hospital admissions in France, Ireland, Spain, Sweden and the US.