VIRAL RESPIRATORY CO-INFECTIONS. IMPORTANCE OF NEWLY DISCOVERED VIRUSES IN PAEDIATRIC RESPIRATORY PATHOLOGIES

Vişan Angelica ^{1, 2}, Luminos Monica ^{1, 2}, Jugulete G. ^{1, 2}, Negulescu Cristina ¹, Drăgănescu Anca ¹, Bilasco Anuţa ¹, Matei Roxana ¹, Măntescu Domniţa ¹, Avram Carmen ¹, Popescu Cristina ¹, Merişescu Mădălina ^1
1 National Institut for Infectious Diseases „Prof. dr. Matei Balş” Bucharest
² University of Medicine and Pharmacy „Carol Davila” Bucharest

Abstract

Respiratory infections represent a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children. The roles of viruses such as respiratory syncytial virus, paraflu and adenovirus are well known in the etiology of respiratory infections. Lately, many studies displayed the implication of Rhinoviruses and Coronaviruses in inferior tract infections, where, sometimes, they can lead to a severe form of illness. Within the last decade, new respiratory viruses were discovered: human metapneumovirus, NL63 and HKU1 coronaviruses and human bocavirus. Viral co-infections are often seen in children hospitalized for acute respiratory infections, this causing more serious forms of disease that require hospital days. Multiplex PCR tests allow a simultaneous detection from the same sample of a large spectrum of viral and bacterial agents, which lay at the basis of respiratory infections.