Background:
@EN Respiratory tract infection is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children. Causes of acute lower respiratory tract infections(ALRI) in infants and children are diverse and include bacteria, mycoplasma, and respiratory viruses.
Thers
is, however, a wide geographic variation regarding the relative importance of each agent It is necessary to identify the etiology and epidemiology of ALRI in each community to employ control measures including vaccine policy. In Korea, there
haeve
been
no published data regarding the the viral etiology and epidemiology of ALRI.
@ES Methods:
@EN Viral etiologic agents of ALRI were studied from November 1990 through April 1994 in Korean children. 804 nasal aspirates were collected from 712 children, who visited or were admitted to Seoul National University Children's Hospital due to
acute
LRI, and viral agents were detected by virus isolation and/or antigen detection by indirect immunofluorescent staining.
@ES Results:
@EN: One or more viral agents were idenified in 369(45.9%) cases, of which 3.3% were mixed (two viral) infections. The pathogens identified were respiratory syncytiai virus(RSV)(27.2%), parainfluenza virus type 3(7.8%), influenza A virus(3.9%),
adenovirus(3.9%), parainfluenza virus type 1(1.7%), influenza B virus (1.4%), parainfluenza virus type 2(0.5%), measles virus(0.1%), and others(0.9%). The clinical patterns of viral LRI included pneumonia(56.6%), bronchiolitis(35.2%),
croup(6.5%),
and
tracheobronchitis(1.6%). Infections with RSV, parainfluenza virus type 1 and 3, and influenza A and B virus occurred in epidemics, while adenovirus was isolated sporadically throughout the study period.
@ES Conclusion:
@EN We studied the etiologic agents and epidemiology of viral ALRI in Korean children, the results of which may be helpful to the clinicians and researchers interested in the control of LRI.
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