Acute lower respiratory tract infection due to respiratory syncytial virus in a group of Egyptian children under 5 years of age

Abstract

Abstract Background and aim Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is one of the most important causes of acute lower respiratory tract infections (ALRTI) in infants and young children. This study was conducted to describe the epidemiology of ALRTI associated with RSV among children ≤ 5 years old in Egypt. Patients and Methods We enrolled 427 children ≤ 5 years old diagnosed with ALRTI attending the outpatient clinic or Emergency Department (ED) of Children Hospital, Cairo University during a one- year period. Nasopharyngeal aspirates were obtained from the patients, kept on ice and processed within 2 hours of collection. Immunoflourescent assay (IFA) for RSV was performed. Results 91 cases (21.3%) had viral etiology with RSV antigens detected in 70 cases (16.4%). The RSV positive cases were significantly younger than other non-RSV cases (mean age 8.2 months versus 14.2 months, p Conclusion RSV is the most common viral etiology of ALRTI in children below 5 years of age, especially in young infants below 6 months of age. It is more prevalent in winter and tends to cause severe infection.