Pandemic-Driven Shifts in RSV Diversity, Evolution, and Global Spread

Pandemic-era disruptions suppressed RSV-A and RSV-B genetic diversity, then drove heterogeneous resurgence marked by new RSV-A genotypes A.D.3 and A.D.5.2 and expansion of RSV-B B.D.E.1.

• Why it matters: Seasonal disruption during COVID-19 created uncertainty about how RSV transmission, evolution, and international spread rebounded, and which factors shaped reemergence.
• What they did: Using global RSV genomic data, the study reconstructed phylogeography and assessed diversity changes, genotype emergence, and selection, detecting positive selection at 20 sites across G, F, and M2-2.
• The result: International spread sharply declined during the pandemic and then increased persistence, with Europe as the predominant source and air-travel volume the strongest dissemination predictor (log coefficient >0.68), implying bottleneck-driven restructuring.

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