Viral respiratory infections in young children attending day care in urban Northeast Brazil

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Abstract
A cohort of children attending a day care center in Salvador (Bahia, Brazil) was studied prospectively to determine the incidence of viral respiratory infectious episodes and to identify the viruses associated with them. Two hundred seventy‐one nasopharyngeal samples were collected over a 1‐year period for examination, using indirect immunofluorescence with monoclonal antibodies against adenovirus, influenza A and B, parainfluenzae 1–3, and respiratory syncytial virus, and reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction for picornavirus.Examination yielded positive results in 116 samples (42.8%). Rhinovirus was identified alone in 56 samples (48.3%) and was observed along with other viruses in 11 additional samples. Incidence density of viral respiratory infectious episodes was 7.66 episodes/1,000 child‐days. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2003; 35:184–191.