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Respiratory syncytial virus infection in children with acute respiratory infections in Zambia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 1998

M. SAIJO ,
H. TERUNUMA ,
K. MIZUTA ,
E. M. MPABALWANI ,
M. MONZE ,
H. OSHITANI ,
N. LUO ,
H. SUZUKI  and
Y. NUMAZAKI
M. SAIJO
Affiliation:
The Virology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology and Pathology, University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia
H. TERUNUMA
Affiliation:
The Virology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology and Pathology, University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia
K. MIZUTA
Affiliation:
The Virology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology and Pathology, University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia Virus Research Center, Sendai National Hospital, Sendai, Japan
E. M. MPABALWANI
Affiliation:
The Virology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology and Pathology, University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia
M. MONZE
Affiliation:
The Virology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology and Pathology, University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia
H. OSHITANI
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, Niigata University School of Medicine, Niigata, Japan
N. LUO
Affiliation:
The Virology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology and Pathology, University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia
H. SUZUKI
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, Niigata University School of Medicine, Niigata, Japan
Y. NUMAZAKI
Affiliation:
The Virology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology and Pathology, University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia Virus Research Center, Sendai National Hospital, Sendai, Japan
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Abstract

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Epidemiological research on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections in children was carried out at the Virology Laboratory, University Teaching Hospital (UTH), in Lusaka, Zambia, from January–December 1996. Specimens including 736 nasal washings and 2424 throat swabs were collected from children with acute respiratory infections (ARI) and tested for RSV by enzyme immunoassay and by virus isolation. RSV was isolated in 62 (4·1%) of 1496 throat swabs collected from March to September and was detected in 99 (16·3%) of 609 nasal washings from March to November. The average RSV isolation rate was 2·6% and the average RSV detection rate was 13·5%. The highest RSV isolation (8·1%) and detection (30·5%) rates were in June 1996. RSV antibody in the 278 serum specimens collected from Zambian children, who were hospitalized in the paediatric ward, UTH, was detected using a standard neutralization test. The antibody positive rate was 60–80% in children >4 years. It is evident that RSV is one of the main causal agents of ARI in children in Zambia.

Type
Research Article
Information
Epidemiology & Infection , Volume 121 , Issue 2 , October 1998 , pp. 397 - 400
Copyright
© 1998 Cambridge University Press