Background of the antigen
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of respiratory illness in young children. RSV infection produces a variety of signs and symptoms involving different areas of the respiratory tract, from the nose to the lungs. RSV is a negative sense, enveloped RNA virus. The virion is variable in shape and size with average diameter of between 120 and 300 nm. The Nucleoprotein encapsidates the genome, protecting it from nucleases. The nucleocapsid (NC) has a helical structure. The encapsidated genomic RNA is termed the NC and serves as template for transcription and replication. During replication, encapsidation by protein N is coupled to RNA synthesis and all replicative products are resistant to nucleases.
