Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV): FDA approves first vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus

Source: The post is based on the article “FDA approves first vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus” published in The Hindu on 6th May 2023

What is the News?

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first vaccine — Arexvy — for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) to lower respiratory tract disease in people older than 60 years. This is the first RSV vaccine to be approved anywhere in the world.

The trials have shown that a single dose of the Arexvy vaccine reduced the risk of people, older than 60 years, developing lower respiratory tract disease caused by the RSV virus by 82.6% and reduced the risk of developing severe disease by 94.1%.

What is Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)?

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) also called human orthopneumovirus is a common contagious virus that causes infections of the respiratory tract. 

It is a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA virus. Its name is derived from the large cells known as syncytia that form when infected cells fuse.

It is the most common cause of lower respiratory tract infections in infants and young children, and it can also affect older adults and people with weakened immune systems.

RSV is highly contagious and spreads through droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes, or by touching a surface contaminated with the virus and then touching one’s face.

Symptoms of RSV can range from mild to severe, including runny nose, coughing, sneezing, fever, wheezing, and difficulty breathing. In severe cases, it can lead to pneumonia, bronchiolitis, or death.

What is the cause of Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)?

In 2013, Barney Graham at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia and other scientists identified the key protein—protein F, which is yet to fully fuse with a human cell — responsible for the RSV virus infecting human cells. 

They found that this protein, introduced in humans, elicited neutralizing antibodies against the virus.