TY - JOUR

T1 - Respiratory Syncytial Virus Prevalence and Genotypic Distribution in the Countries of the Former Soviet Union: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

AU - Maslov, Denis E.

AU - Osipov, Ivan D.

AU - Zabelina, Daria S.

AU - Pak, Anastasia A.

AU - Netesov, Sergey V.

N1 - The research has been supported by the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education by basic funding grants numbers FSUS-2025-0012, FSUS-2025-0017 and the Novosibirsk State University Program “Prioritet-2030”.

PY - 2026/1/19

Y1 - 2026/1/19

N2 - Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is among leading global causes of lower respiratory tract infections, yet data from Russia and other states of the Former Soviet Union (FSU) remain fragmented and structurally inconsistent. This systematic review aims to map and synthesize existing evidence on RSV epidemiology and genotypic distribution across the FSU. Published studies from eLIBRARY and PubMed databases queried for RSV prevalence data, together with public health surveillance datasets, were used to summarize RSV prevalence research across eight FSU countries. Random-effects meta-analysis across age strata showed high prevalence in children before 6 (21%) and a progressive decline with age, which is in agreement with global data. Prevalence estimates showed a high degree of variability partially explained by study scope and clinical presentation. We observed COVID-19-related seasonal disruptions of RSV seasonality, followed by gradual post-pandemic stabilization. Genotypic data reflects global trends with two cosmopolitan clades, A.D and B.D, and their descendants, dominating in the region. The review is limited by uneven geographical and temporal coverage, and scarce data on adults. The review provides the first integrated summary of RSV epidemiology across the FSU and underscores the need for expanded regional surveillance and genomic reporting.

AB - Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is among leading global causes of lower respiratory tract infections, yet data from Russia and other states of the Former Soviet Union (FSU) remain fragmented and structurally inconsistent. This systematic review aims to map and synthesize existing evidence on RSV epidemiology and genotypic distribution across the FSU. Published studies from eLIBRARY and PubMed databases queried for RSV prevalence data, together with public health surveillance datasets, were used to summarize RSV prevalence research across eight FSU countries. Random-effects meta-analysis across age strata showed high prevalence in children before 6 (21%) and a progressive decline with age, which is in agreement with global data. Prevalence estimates showed a high degree of variability partially explained by study scope and clinical presentation. We observed COVID-19-related seasonal disruptions of RSV seasonality, followed by gradual post-pandemic stabilization. Genotypic data reflects global trends with two cosmopolitan clades, A.D and B.D, and their descendants, dominating in the region. The review is limited by uneven geographical and temporal coverage, and scarce data on adults. The review provides the first integrated summary of RSV epidemiology across the FSU and underscores the need for expanded regional surveillance and genomic reporting.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105028508711

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/5e02964a-7321-391d-bf40-7b3e2b7a2b14/

U2 - 10.3390/v18010126

DO - 10.3390/v18010126

M3 - Article

C2 - 41600887

VL - 18

JO - Viruses

JF - Viruses

SN - 1999-4915

IS - 1

M1 - 126

ER -