ETIOLOGY OF RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Sixty viruses were recovered from 58 of 114 infants and children ill of respiratory infections. Two outbreaks, one caused by RS and the other by influenza B viruses, occurred during the study period. RS and influenza B viruses totaled 55% of the virus yield. Other viruses recovered were parainfluenza types 1, 2 and 3 (14 strains), reovirus, type 1 (5 strains), adenovirus (5 strains), and mumps (1 strain). Two viruses were lost and remain unidentified. Good correlation was obtained between viruses and development of specific antibody. A small fraction of infants had dual virus infections; heterotypic antibody responses were observed in 20% of the patients. These were considered to represent in part successive infections with specific viruses. Fourteen of 18 RS viruses, 6 influenza, and all except one of the parainfluenza viruses (type 3) were associated with laryngotracheobronchitis, bronchiolitis, and pneumonia. None was associated with any single clinical category. RS was associated more often with pneumonia than bronchiolitis; influenza B was associated less often with these than with upper respiratory infection. Analysis of virus-positive and virus-negative subgroups for bacterial "pathogens" and leukocytosis indicated that pneumonia of virus-negative infants was very likely bacterial in origin. Evidence was also obtained of concurrent bacterial infection in a fraction of patients yielding viruses.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: