Estimated Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Related Hospitalizations and Deaths among Children and Adults in Spain, 2016–2019

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes a substantial disease burden among infants. In older children and adults, incidence is underestimated due to nonspecific symptoms and limited standard-of-care testing. We aimed to estimate RSV-attributable hospitalizations and deaths in Spain during 2016–2019. Nationally representative hospitalization and mortality databases were obtained from the Ministry of Health and the National Statistical Office. A quasi-Poisson regression model was fitted to estimate the number of hospitalizations and deaths attributable to RSV as a function of periodic and aperiodic time trends and viral activity, while allowing for potential overdispersion. In children, the RSV-attributable respiratory hospitalization incidence was highest among infants aged 0–5 months (3998–5453 cases/100,000 person-years, representing 72