Genome Sequencing of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) over a 30 year period to understand genetic and antigenic evolution and association of genetic variation with disease severity in infants. human respiratory syncytial virus

Respiratory Syncytial virus (RSV) is of great public health importance, as it is the major cause of lower respiratory tract infection in infants and young children both in the United States and globally. During annual epidemics, various genotypes of both group A and B RSV viruses often co-circulate, although group A genotypes dominate most years. Some studies have noted that disease severity is related to the infecting RSV genotype. As part of this project we aim to sequence complete genomes of hundreds of RSV strains from mild and severe infections during a 30 year time frame to see associations between RSV group, genotype and specific gene sequences associated with disease severity.