SINT MAARTEN (CAY HILL) - St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) is pleased to announce that the first two manuscripts from the RISE and CARE-SAFE Studies, in-depth investigations into the epidemiology of respiratory infections in children on St. Maarten (RISE) and all six islands of the Dutch Caribbean Kingdom (CARE-SAFE), have been accepted for publication and are now available online.
The RISE Study is a joint research collaboration between SMMC and Radboud UMC in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, designed to strengthen pediatric respiratory care on St. Maarten. CARE-SAFE is also a collaboration of a team spanning institutions across all six Dutch Caribbean islands, including St. Maarten Medical Center, St. Maarten Laboratory Services (SLS), LabHOH, Fundashon Mariadal, Bonlab, Medical Laboratory Services (MLS) Curacao, Analytisch Diagnostisch Centrum Curacao (ADC), Saba Cares and St. Eustatius Health Care Foundation.
This research is vital to pediatric care in the Dutch Caribbean as respiratory tract infections remain a leading cause of hospitalization among young children and can lead to both acute illness and long-term health challenges.
Because respiratory viruses behave differently in tropical climates, international guidelines are often based on data from Europe or North/South America that may not always align with St. Maarten’s reality. To fill this critical knowledge gap, the RISE team analyzed all respiratory pathogen results from children admitted to SMMC with respiratory tract infections between 2018 and 2023.
Key findings from the published manuscripts indicate that Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) was strongly associated with more severe disease in young children and disease severity appeared to increase in the period following the COVID-19 pandemic. Clear seasonality was observed, with RSV admissions peaking during the rainy season.
These insights contribute vital evidence for the development of prevention strategies tailored to the Caribbean climate. Understanding when RSV circulates most intensely enables healthcare institutions like SMMC to time preventive measures better, ultimately helping to reduce severe illness and hospitalizations in children.
“By combining our clinical expertise with the research strength of Radboud UMC, the RISE collaboration marks a significant step toward reducing the burden of respiratory disease among children on our island,” said the RISE study authors, Drs. Sam Engels, Radboud UMC Epidemiologist, Drs. Martijn Tilanus, SMMC Pediatrician, Drs. Radjin Steingrover, SMMC & St. Maarten Laboratory Services (SLS) Medical Microbiologist, and Dr. Lilly Verhagen, SMMC & Radboud UMC Pediatrician and Infectious Diseases & Immunology Subspecialist.
These findings have also directly informed the recently funded RSV Roadmap project, a collaborative implementation initiative between SMMC, Radboud UMC and regional stakeholders aimed at translating these epidemiological insights into locally adapted RSV prevention strategies for the Caribbean islands.
The project focuses on determining how and when emerging RSV preventive measures can best be implemented within the specific seasonal and healthcare context of the Dutch Caribbean.
To support these activities locally on St. Maarten, two project coordinators, Veerle Bok-Baroud and Tanya Balani, have recently been appointed within SMMC to help coordinate stakeholder engagement, implementation activities and regional collaboration efforts.
This research empowers SMMC and healthcare institutions across the region to refine approaches to diagnosing, treating, and preventing respiratory illnesses in children and to advance the overall quality of pediatric care on St. Maarten.
The published manuscripts can be found on BMJ Open: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/16/1/e104991.full and here on the International Journal of Infectious Diseases: https://www.ijidonline.com/article/S1201-9712(26)00133-5/pdf
