New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Science News
from research organizations

Increase in non-COVID-19 respiratory infections predicted this winter

Date:
August 9, 2022
Source:
University of Bristol
Summary:
An increase in the number of non-COVID-19 respiratory infections should be expected this winter, say scientists. The warning comes following the results of a new study that found that over 55 percent of respiratory disease hospitalizations during the pandemic's peak were caused by non-SARS-CoV-2 infections.
Share:
FULL STORY

An increase in the number of non-COVID-19 respiratory infections should be expected this winter, say scientists. The warning comes following the results of a new study, published in The Lancet Regional Health -- Europe, which found that over 55% of respiratory disease hospitalisations during the pandemic's peak were caused by non-SARS-CoV-2 infections.

The University Bristol-led study funded and conducted in collaboration with Pfizer Inc., as part of AvonCAP, is the first to compare the number of hospitalisations from respiratory disease infections caused by COVID-19 and non-SARS-CoV-2 infections.

Using data from 135,014 hospitalisations from two large hospitals in Bristol between August 2020 and November 2021, researchers identified 12,557 admissions attributable to acute Lower Respiratory Tract Disease (aLRTD) with patients admitted with signs or symptoms of respiratory infections including cough, fever, pleurisy, or a clinical or radiological aLRTD diagnosis. Of these, 12,248 (98%) patients, comprising mainly older adults, consented to participate in the study.

Following further analysis, the team show that of the 12,248 aLRTD hospitalisations, 55% (6,909) were due to infection with no evidence of SARS-CoV-2, while confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection only accounted for 26% (3,178) of respiratory infections. The remaining 17% (2,161) were due to infection with no infective cause.

Adam Finn, Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Bristol, Director of the Bristol Vaccine Centre at Bristol Medical School and lead of Bristol UNCOVER (Bristol COVID Emergency Research Group), said: "What is really surprising from our results is just how much other non-COVID respiratory infections there was during this time, other infections clearly didn't just disappear and despite significant public health measures, including both vaccination and non-pharmaceutical intervention such as masks, our findings show there was still a high incidence of non-COVID-19 disease causing hospitalisations alongside COVID-19 patients."

Dr Catherine Hyams, Post-Doctoral Clinical Research Fellow, Principal Investigator for the AvonCAP study and one of the study's lead authors at the University of Bristol, added: "Our results really highlight not only the huge burden of respiratory infection on the NHS and other healthcare systems, but also how bad things may get this winter. It is therefore essential that appropriate healthcare planning and resource allocation is undertaken to care for patients with respiratory conditions, in addition to implementation of public health measures to reduce respiratory disease burden and improve patient outcomes."

The study is part of AvonCAP, an ongoing collaborative surveillance project funded by Pfizer Inc., which records detailed information on every adult patient admitted to Bristol's two large NHS hospitals with symptoms, signs and/or X-ray evidence of acute disease in the lungs.


Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Bristol. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Catherine Hyams, Robert Challen, Elizabeth Begier, Jo Southern, Jade King, Anna Morley, Zsuzsa Szasz-Benczur, Maria Garcia Gonzalez, Jane Kinney, James Campling, Sharon Gray, Jennifer Oliver, Robin Hubler, Srinivas Valluri, Andrew Vyse, John M. McLaughlin, Gillian Ellsbury, Nick A. Maskell, Bradford D. Gessner, Leon Danon, Adam Finn, Amelia Langdon, Anabella Turner, Anya Mattocks, Bethany Osborne, Charli Grimes, Claire Mitchell, David Adegbite, Emma Bridgeman, Emma Scott, Fiona Perkins, Francesca Bayley, Gabriella Ruffino, Gabriella Valentine, Grace Tilzey, Johanna Kellett Wright, Julia Brzezinska, Julie Cloake, Katarina Milutinovic, Kate Helliker, Katie Maughan, Kazminder Fox, Konstantina Minou, Lana Ward, Leah Fleming, Leigh Morrison, Lily Smart, Louise Wright, Lucy Grimwood, Maddalena Bellavia, Madeleine Clout, Marianne Vasquez, Milo Jeenes-Flanagan, Natalie Chang, Niall Grace, Nicola Manning, Oliver Griffiths, Pip Croxford, Peter Sequenza, Rajeka Lazarus, Rhian Walters, Robin Marlow, Robyn Heath, Rupert Antico, Sandi Nammuni Arachchge, Seevakumar Suppiah, Taslima Mona, Tawassal Riaz, Vicki Mackay, Zandile Maseko, Zoe Taylor, Zsolt Friedrich. Incidence of community acquired lower respiratory tract disease in Bristol, UK during the COVID-19 pandemic: A prospective cohort study. The Lancet Regional Health - Europe, 2022; 21: 100473 DOI: 10.1016/j.lanepe.2022.100473

Cite This Page:

University of Bristol. "Increase in non-COVID-19 respiratory infections predicted this winter." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 9 August 2022. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220809101800.htm>.
University of Bristol. (2022, August 9). Increase in non-COVID-19 respiratory infections predicted this winter. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 31, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220809101800.htm
University of Bristol. "Increase in non-COVID-19 respiratory infections predicted this winter." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220809101800.htm (accessed October 31, 2024).

Explore More

from ScienceDaily

RELATED STORIES