An Overview of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccine Development

Abstract

Respiratory viral diseases constitute significant global health burdens, bringing about a huge number of hospitalizations every year. Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is the main cause of severe lower respiratory tract diseases in under-five children and adults above 65 years of age. RSV associated infection can present with symptoms similar to that of the common cold and in severe cases, can present as pneumonia or bronchitis, while in complicated cases, they may lead to extrapulmonary consequences in the brain and other tissues and organs RSV causes a respiratory tract infection that affects 64 million people per year worldwide. It hospitalizes 3 million children under 5 years old and approximately 336,000 older adults annually. Vaccination could signicantly relieve the burden of RSV disease. There are no authorized vaccines to forestall RSV diseases, and the main prophylaxis at present is the monoclonal antibody palivizumab. However, its use is restricted to high-risk individuals, it is also very expensive and moderately effective, and hence the need to explore other vaccine options that will be more effective, safe, and affordable and therapeutics for infants and high-risk populations like health care workers. Anatomic understanding of antigenicity is a critical step in the pathway towards the development of a structure-based vaccine; a supersite specific strategy will be advantageous as we can focus on the target with utmost accuracy hence the aim of this review.