Open AccessPrevention of antimicrobial prescribing among infants following maternal vaccination against respiratory syncytial virus
Author(s) -
Joseph A Lewnard,
Louis Fries,
Iksung Cho,
Janice Chen,
Ramanan Laxminarayan
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2112410119
Subject(s) - antimicrobial , medicine , vaccination , respiratory tract infections , virus , respiratory system , antibiotic resistance , immunology , virology , antibiotics , biology , microbiology and biotechnology
Significance Strategies to reduce consumption of antimicrobial drugs are needed to contain the growing burden of antimicrobial resistance. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a prominent cause of upper and lower respiratory tract infections, as a single agent and in conjunction with bacterial pathogens, and may thus contribute to the burden of both inappropriately treated viral infections and appropriately treated polymicrobial infections involving bacteria. In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, administering an RSV vaccine to pregnant mothers reduced antimicrobial prescribing among their infants by 12.9% over the first 3 mo of life. Our findings implicate RSV as an important contributor to antimicrobial exposure among infants and demonstrate that this exposure is preventable by use of effective maternal vaccines against RSV.