The Queen Alexandra Hospital will be working on a study to evaluate Respiratory Syncytial Virus

Infants across the Portsmouth area will play a vital role in a new respiratory virus study by looking into the main causes of infant hospitalisation.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus is one of the leading causes of hospitalisation in infants and 90 per cent of children under the age of two are affected by the virus.

Over the last few months, with the easing of the pandemic, there has been a surge in children that become unwell due to RSV, and the new HARMONIE study, which will take place at Queen Alexandra Hospital, could be groundbreaking.

The study, which is run by Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, will be a collaboration with Sanofi, its partner AstraZeneca, and the National Institute for Health and Care Research.

The virus often only causes a cold for most children, but in some cases, it can cause more severe lung problems such as bronchiolitis and pneumonia.

Dr Tim Scorrer, local lead investigator for the HARMONIE study and consultant neonatologist at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust said: ‘RSV is a major cause of death and illness in children across the world and in the UK, it is the most common reason for admission to hospital in children aged under one year.

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‘Most of the children admitted to hospital with RSV are previously healthy and every year we see a significant number of infants on our wards with this infection, some becoming very unwell.’

The study will see more than 20,000 infants, including newborn babies to babies 12 months old, take part across three countries, and it will last approximately 12 months, and will see the evaluation of the efficacy of a monoclonal antibody immunisation.

Participants will only need one in person visit with the rest taking place virtually.

Professor Andrew Ustianowski, national specialty lead for Infection at NIHR Clinical Research Network, said: ‘This study, supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research across more than 100 sites, provides the UK with the opportunity to lead the way in a disease which impacts infants globally.’