Farr-funded scholar awarded PhD

Farr-funded scholar Rachel Reeves has successfully defended and been awarded her PhD with her work on "Respiratory syncytial virus in young children in England - burden and risk factors for severe disease".

Synopsis

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of lower respiratory tract infection in infants and young children.  With potential vaccines on the horizon, it is essential that detailed estimates of RSV burden are calculated to determine optimal target populations for a future vaccine programme.  My PhD estimated the secondary care burden of RSV in children younger than five years in England using routinely collected laboratory and hospital data, linking these datasets for the first time for RSV.  My results provide detailed baseline epidemiological data for vaccine impact studies, highlighting the high burden of RSV in young infants (<3 months of age), infants born around the beginning of RSV season, and those born prematurely or with co-morbidities.