Rapid scientific advice on protecting infants against respiratory syncytial virus disease for the European 2025/26 winter season

RSV among infants in the EU/EEA

• RSV is a common respiratory virus which disproportionally affects newborns and infants, with infants under six months of age being at high risk of experiencing severe infections.
• Severe RSV illness, especially among babies born prematurely or with chronic lung disease, can result in bronchiolitis or pneumonia requiring hospitalisation, and on rare occasions can lead to death.
• During the 2024/2025 winter season, half of the detected RSV infections occurred in children 0-4 years of age. Infants 0–2 months of age accounted for a large proportion of admissions to intensive care units. 

Immunisation interventions to protect infants from RSV disease

• Since 2022, the EU has authorised safe and effective RSV immunisation products to prevent RSV disease in infants. These include long-acting monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for infants and maternal vaccines for pregnant people.
• Twenty-three EU/EEA countries recommend RSV immunisation and 19 have funded long-acting mAbs programmes. Sixteen countries recommend universal long-acting mAbs for all infants and three countries recommend long-acting mAbs for infants at high risk of severe illness.
• Three countries use maternal vaccination exclusively and five countries offer it as an alternative alongside long-acting mAbs. 

ECDC advice to strengthen RSV prevention interventions in EU/EEA countries 

• As the 2025/26 RSV season is starting in Europe, ECDC recommends the following interventions to strengthen the protection of infants against RSV disease:
• Countries should raise awareness in the community and among healthcare providers about the risk of RSV to infants, the risk factors for more severe disease in infants and children, and the availability of immunisation and information on other preventative measures such as maintaining good hygiene and respiratory etiquette.
• Countries making decisions on whether to implement RSV immunisation programmes can learn from the experience of EU countries which have effective infant RSV immunisation programmes (long-acting mAbs, maternal vaccination, or a combination of both) already in place.
• Countries with implemented RSV programmes should prepare, implement or strengthen systems to monitor the effectiveness of immunisation programmes, using surveillance systems and systems that link immunisation data to individual infant health records. Furthermore, continuous monitoring of the safety of RSV immunisation products should be conducted.
• Countries should strengthen surveillance for RSV through integration with established respiratory infection surveillance networks, enabling comprehensive understanding of RSV epidemiology, including RSV disease trends, severity and age distribution. 

To support EU/EEA countries, ECDC will continue to provide surveillance guidance, assess emerging evidence, and monitor the effectiveness of RSV immunisation programmes.