Introduction
Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) is the most common viral infection that induces acute lower respiratory tract infections (ALRTIs) in children, elderly people and immune-suppressed patients. Based on genetic variations in G protein, HRSV is divided into two groups: group A which is categorized into 14 genotypes (GA1 to GA7, SAA1, CB-A, NA1 to NA4 and ON1) and group B which is subdivided into a further 27 genotypes (BA1 to BA12, BA-C, SAB1 to SAB4, GB1 to GB4, URU1 to URU2, CB-B, CB-1, BA-CCB and BA-CCA). The subtype ON1 of RSV-A was first identified in Canada in December of 2010 and was reported to contain a unique duplication of 72 nucleotides in the second hypervariable region of the G gene and it may be spreading rapidly and replacing the NA1 subtype in many countries such as Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Italy, Germany, Bulgaria, Croatia and China. A similar duplication was reported in the variable region around 60 nucleotide of the G protein of the BA subtype of RSV-B in 1999 in Argentina.