RSV information and awareness platform Türkçe Frequently asked questions

Scientific background

RSV in Türkiye

Türkiye has an institutional sentinel laboratory infrastructure that tracks RSV circulation. What is not regularly reported are the disease-burden indicators that would show RSV’s real impact on the population.

Key message Effective RSV policy requires that the burden be measured and made visible; a burden that cannot be measured cannot enter decision-making.

Paediatric intensive care data: the RSVP study

The multicentre RSVP study, covering data from many paediatric intensive care units across Türkiye, has shed important light on this evidence gap. This retrospective multicentre study assessed 646 children admitted to paediatric intensive care with RSV infection between 2020 and 2024.2

  • 646 Children assessed (2020–2024) Çoban et al., 2026
  • 70% Proportion aged under 12 months Çoban et al., 2026
  • 70.6% Proportion with no underlying chronic condition Çoban et al., 2026
  • 5.4% Overall mortality rate Çoban et al., 2026

In the same study, pneumonia was found in 59.8% and bronchiolitis in 38.1% of patients; 12.7% developed paediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome. Respiratory support requirements were substantial: 25.5% required invasive mechanical ventilation. Mortality was higher in children with underlying conditions. Co-infections were frequent, most often with rhinovirus/enterovirus, influenza A, seasonal coronaviruses, adenovirus and SARS-CoV-2.2

Other findings from Türkiye

RSV studies from Türkiye
StudyScopeKey finding
Alan et al., 201644 neonatal intensive care unitsRSV-associated mortality of 1.2% in newborns admitted with acute lower respiratory infection
Yılmaz et al., 2025İzmir Tepecik Hospital, 2015–2023, 835 paediatric patientsOverall mortality of 1.1% in laboratory-confirmed RSV; significantly longer stays in those born before 29 weeks
Turkish Neonatal Society, 201232 hospitals, May 2008 – September 2010RSV activity correlates positively with humidity and rainfall, negatively with temperature
Güdül Havuz & Erdem, 2021Samsun Public Health Laboratory, 2016–2018RSV was the second most frequently detected respiratory virus in early childhood
Özkan et al., 2021Moderate/late preterm infants, multicentreRSV-associated lower respiratory infections linked to higher admission, intensive care and ventilation requirements
Çağlar et al., 2023Single centre, five years of data, 9,567 respiratory samplesAggressive rise in RSV infections as pandemic measures were lifted; 1,073 RSV-positive cases

The state of national surveillance

The most important nationally accessible official data source on RSV in Türkiye is the Weekly Respiratory Virus Surveillance Reports published by the Ministry of Health's General Directorate of Public Health. These reports track RSV not as an independent disease surveillance heading but within integrated respiratory virus surveillance, alongside influenza, SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses. The structure rests principally on influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) sentinel surveillance.1

In this respect Türkiye does have institutional sentinel laboratory surveillance capable of tracking RSV circulation. The weekly reports allow monitoring of seasonal variation in RSV activity, positivity rates, relative distribution among respiratory viruses and trends in particular age groups.1

Indicators that need measuring

The public health impact of RSV cannot be assessed by case counts alone. Understanding the burden properly requires epidemiological, clinical, systemic and economic indicators to be considered together.13111516

  • Epidemiological indicators

    • Age-specific incidence
    • RSV positivity rate
    • Season start and end dates
    • Regional distribution

  • Clinical indicators

    • Emergency and outpatient presentations
    • Hospital admission rates
    • Intensive care admissions
    • Mechanical ventilation requirement
    • Mortality

  • Health system indicators

    • Bed occupancy rates
    • Intensive care capacity use
    • Health worker workload
    • Effects on continuity of service

  • Economic indicators

    • Direct health expenditure
    • Hospital costs
    • Out-of-pocket costs to families
    • Work loss

The national RSV economic burden study conducted in Türkiye sets out the total financial load RSV infections place on the health system and the social security institution, including hospital admission costs, intensive care expenditure and indirect costs from parental work loss.10

Strengths and gaps

Strengths

01
Widespread primary care network
02
An established national expanded immunisation programme
03
Clinical experience in reference and teaching hospitals
04
Institutional Ministry of Health capacity for season management
05
Awareness and accumulated experience of RSV among clinicians

Gaps and constraints

01
Lack of national surveillance infrastructure specific to RSV
02
Limited visibility of RSV in seasonal capacity planning
03
RSV admission and cost data not publicly available
04
Health worker burnout not linked to the RSV season
05
Access and reimbursement framework for new preventive interventions still unsettled
RSV surveillance should evolve from virological monitoring towards an integrated framework that measures disease burden and intervention impact.

A similar transformation is under way globally. In its 2021 global RSV surveillance strategy the World Health Organization recommended extending the existing GISRS infrastructure to cover RSV11; its 2024 guidance defines integrated sentinel surveillance of influenza, RSV and SARS-CoV-2 as the international standard approach.12 Surveillance systems are now expected not merely to track circulation but to produce outcome and impact indicators showing how many admissions, how many intensive care stays and how many deaths have been prevented.14

Related pages

Sources

  1. T.C. Sağlık Bakanlığı Halk Sağlığı Genel Müdürlüğü. (t.y.). Haftalık solunum yolu virüsleri sürveyans raporları. HSGM.
  2. Çoban, Y., Evren, G., Yıldızdaş, D., Zengin, N., Bal, L., Kendirli, T., ve ark., & Dinleyici, E. Ç. (2026). Burden, risk factors, and outcomes of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in pediatric intensive care units in Türkiye (RSVP Study 2020–2024). BMC Pediatrics, 26(1), Article 298. doi.org/10.1186/s12887-026-06562-7
  3. Alan, S., Erdeve, O., Cakir, U., & RSVP Study Group. (2016). Outcome of the respiratory syncytial virus related acute lower respiratory tract infection among hospitalized newborns: A prospective multicenter study. The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine, 29(13), 2186–2190. doi.org/10.3109/14767058.2015.1076387
  4. Yilmaz, D., Tasar, S., Tuz, A. E., Eroz, N. A., Oncel, E. K., Aksay, A. K., & Yilmaz, N. (2025). Overview of pediatric respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections: Has risk perception for RSV changed in children with comorbid conditions? European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, 44(2), 333–342. doi.org/10.1007/s10096-024-05003-6
  5. Turkish Neonatal Society. (2012). The seasonal variations of respiratory syncytial virus infections in Turkey: A two-year epidemiological study. The Turkish Journal of Pediatrics, 54(3), 216–222.
  6. Güdül Havuz, S., & Erdem, F. (2021). Samsun Halk Sağlığı Laboratuvarında 2016–2018 yılları arasında influenza ve diğer solunum yolu virüsleri sürveyans verilerinin retrospektif olarak değerlendirilmesi. FLORA İnfeksiyon Hastalıkları ve Klinik Mikrobiyoloji Dergisi, 26(1), 172–182. doi.org/10.5578/flora.20219918
  7. Arslan, P., Akın, Y., Ağzıkuru, T., & Çınar, H. (2024). Incidence and clinical profile of respiratory syncytial virus infection in infants admitted with diagnosis of lower respiratory tract infection. Başakşehir Çam & Sakura Medical Journal, 4(2), 56–63. doi.org/10.4274/csmedj.galenos.2024.2024-7-2
  8. Özkan, H., Çelebi, S., Köksal, N., Hacımustafaoğlu, M., Koç, E., Tezer, H., Çetinkaya, M., Cebeci, B., Erdeve, Ö., Özdemir, H., & Turkish Neonatal Society RSV Study Group. (2021). Risk factors for respiratory syncytial virus infections in moderate/late premature infants in Turkey: A prospective multicenter epidemiological study. American Journal of Perinatology, 38(14), 1540–1546. doi.org/10.1055/s-0040-1713928
  9. Çağlar, H. T., Pekcan, S., Yılmaz, A. İ., ve ark. (2023). The epidemiologic trend of respiratory syncytial virus has returned strongly to its origin after the pandemic: Five-year data from a single center. Pediatric Pulmonology, 58(12), 3582–3587. doi.org/10.1002/ppul.26696
  10. Malhan, B. S. (2026). Türkiye’de Respiratuar Sinsityal Virüs (RSV) Enfeksiyonu Ekonomik Yük Çalışması. Sağlık Ekonomisi ve Politikası Derneği Raporu.
  11. World Health Organization (WHO). (2021). WHO strategy for global respiratory syncytial virus surveillance. WHO.
  12. World Health Organization (WHO). (2024). Integrated sentinel surveillance of influenza, SARS-CoV-2, RSV and other respiratory viruses. WHO.
  13. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). (2024a). RSV surveillance guidance. ECDC.
  14. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2025). Early estimates of RSV immunization impact among infants, 2024–2025 season. CDC.
  15. German, R. R., Lee, L. M., Horan, M. M., Milstein, R. L., Pertowski, C. A., & Waller, M. N. (2001). Updated guidelines for evaluating public health surveillance systems. MMWR Recommendations and Reports, 50(RR13), 1–35.
  16. World Health Organization (WHO). (2011). Monitoring, evaluation and review of national health strategies: A country-led platform for information and accountability. WHO.

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The information on this site is for general guidance only and does not replace examination, diagnosis or treatment by a clinician.