Lung disease death toll revealed

A COMMON virus causing wheezing and pneumonia claims the lives of up to 200,000 children worldwide each year, Scottish researchers have found.

The study by Edinburgh University also showed that about 3.4 million children require hospital treatment for severe lung infection caused by the bug, known as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

RSV – which infects most children before the age of two – usually causes mild cold-like symptoms.

But it can lead to serious illness in babies who are born prematurely or who have congenital heart disease.

The new study in the Lancet confirms that RSV is the single largest cause of lung infection in children. It is the first time that the numbers of children dying globally from RSV before the age of five has been estimated.

The international team analysed unpublished data from developing countries, as well as all the published research on RSV infection.

They found that about 33.8 million children become infected with RSV each year and that 99 per cent of RSV-related deaths occur in developing countries.

The team hopes that by identifying the numbers affected by the virus, they may contribute to the development of a vaccine against the infection.

Dr Harish Nair, from the university's Department of Population Health Studies, said: "Our greatest hope of fighting this virus is to develop a vaccine, but before we can implement an immunisation programme, we need to understand exactly how big a problem RSV poses.

"This is the first time we have gathered information on such a global scale and is the best estimate we have for the number of children dying each year from this preventable illness."