Proposal for Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus Nomenclature below the Species Level

Salimi, Vahid; Viegas, Mariana; Trento, Alfonsina; Agoti, Charles N.; Anderson, Larry J.; Avadhanula, Vasanthi; Bahl, Justin; Bont, Louis; Brister, J. Rodney; Cane, Patricia A.; Galiano, Mónica; Graham, Barney S.; Hatcher, Eneida L.; Hellferscee, Orienka; Henke, David M.; Hirve, Siddhivinayak; Jackson, Sandra; Keyaerts, Els; Kragten-Tabatabaie, Leyla; Lindstrom, Stephen; Nauwelaers, Inne; Nokes, D. James; Openshaw, Peter J.; Peret, Teresa C.; Piedra, Pedro A.; Ramaekers, Kaat; Rector, Annabel; Trovão, Nídia Sequeira; von Gottberg, Anne; Zambon, Maria; Zhang, Wenqing; Williams, Thomas C.; Barr, Ian G.; Buchholz, Ursula J.

Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) is the leading viral cause of serious pediatric respiratory disease, and lifelong reinfections are common. Its 2 major subgroups, A and B, exhibit some antigenic variability, enabling HRSV to circulate annually. Globally, research has increased the number of HRSV genomic sequences available. To ensure accurate molecular epidemiology analyses, we propose a uniform nomenclature for HRSV-positive samples and isolates, and HRSV sequences, namely: HRSV/subgroup identifier/geographic identifier/unique sequence identifier/year of sampling. We also propose a template for submitting associated metadata. Universal nomenclature would help researchers retrieve and analyze sequence data to better understand the evolution of this virus.