Florea D. 1 *, Visan Angelica 1, 2, Draganescu Anca 1, Jugulete G. 1, 2, Luminos Monica 1, 2, Otelea D. 1
1 National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Prof Dr Matei Bals”, Bucharest, Romania
2 University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Carol Davila”, Bucharest, Romania
Abstract
Objective: To investigate the prevalence of respiratory viruses and the rate of viral co-infection in patients with acute respiratory disease hospitalized in the National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Prof Dr Matei Bals” in the winter season 2012/2013. Methods: Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from patients with acute respiratory illness admitted from December 2012 to March 2013. The samples were tested with xTAG Respiratory Virus Panel Fast (Luminex). Results: A total of 227 samples were prelevated, most of them (77.3%) from paediatric (0-14 years old) patients. More than half (56.3%) of the samples were positive for at least one virus; the predominant viruses were influenza A and influenza B. Adenovirus, RSV and Rhinovirus/Enterovirus (RV/EV) were detected most frequently in children less than 5 years old. Eleven samples (8.5%) were positive for two viruses and one sample was positive for three viruses. Co-infection was significantly associated (p=0.01) with age under 5 years. Adenovirus and RV/EV were more frequently detected with other viruses, and all the viruses of the panel (influenza, parainfluenza, RSV, adenovirus, RV/EV, Coronavirus, Metapneumovirus, Bocavirus) were identified in co-infections. Conclusion: Co-detection of two or more respiratory viruses is not uncommon in paediatric patients with acute respiratory illness.