No detection of respiratory syncytial virus at one clinic in Japan with rapid immunochromatographic antigen tests for three viruses using the same nasopharyngeal swabs from adult patients
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The disease burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in Japanese adults has been attracting attention. Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from 141 patients aged 18 years and older who visited a Japanese clinic from August 2024 to July 2025 with symptoms of an acute respiratory infection. These samples were tested using rapid immunochromatographic antigen tests for SARS-CoV-2, influenza viruses A and B, and RSV. The results showed that 32 patients tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, 31 for influenza virus A, and one for influenza virus B, whereas no RSV-positive patients were detected. Compared with five previous reports using polymerase-chain reaction (PCR) testing (RSV-positive: 88 of 2974 patients), the number of RSV-positive patients was lower (chi-squared test p=0.04123), suggesting that the rapid immunochromatographic antigen test is not useful for diagnosing RSV infections in adults in Japan.