Prevalence of human respiratory syncytial virus infection in people with acute respiratory tract infections in Africa: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

AIM: The epidemiology of human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) infection has not yet been systematically investigated in Africa. This systematic review and meta‐analysis are to estimate the prevalence of HRSV infections in people with acute respiratory tract infections (ARTI) in Africa. METHOD: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Africa Journal Online, and Global Index Medicus to identify observational studies published from January 1, 2000, to August 1, 2017. We used a random‐effects model to estimate the prevalence across studies. Heterogeneity (I (2)) was assessed via the chi‐square test on Cochran's Q statistic. Review registration: PROSPERO CRD42017076352. RESULTS: A total of 67 studies (154 000 participants) were included. Sixty (90%), seven (10%), and no studies had low, moderate, and high risk of bias, respectively. The prevalence of HRSV infection varied widely (range 0.4%‐60.4%). The pooled prevalence was 14.6% (95% CI 13.0‐16.4, I (2) = 98.8%). The prevalence was higher in children (18.5%; 95% CI 15.8‐21.5) compared to adults (4.0%; 95% CI 2.2‐6.1) and in people with severe respiratory tract infections (17.9%; 95% CI 15.8‐20.1) compared to those with benign forms (9.4%; 95% CI 7.4‐11.5); P‐values <0.0001. The HRSV prevalence was not associated with sex, subregion in Africa, setting, altitude, latitude, longitude, and seasonality. CONCLUSION: This study suggests a high prevalence of HRSV in people with ARTI in Africa, particularly among children and people with severe clinical form. All innovative strategies to curb the burden should first focus on children which present the highest HRSV‐related burden.