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Multiplex RT-PCR based detection of human bocavirus and other respiratory viruses in infants and young children with lower respiratory tract infection
اروى مجاهد عبد الله
Authors : Zaid Sami Rasheed, Arwa Mujahid Abdullah Al-Shuwaikh, Khaled Rashid Issa
Background: Human Bocavirus (hBoV) has recently been identified as a causative agent of acute respiratory infection (ARI) in infant and young children. However, there is little information about its frequency and importance as a cause of lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) in Iraq. Objective: To assess the frequency of hBoV and co-infection rate in infants and young children with LRTI. Methods: Nasopharyngeal/throat swabs were collected during the peak winter months from 100 hospitalized infants and young children less than 5 years of age with LRTI in Baghdad, Iraq. Five viruses were investigated by Multiplex Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT PCR). Results: It was found that 71 (71%) had a viral infection either single or mixed. Six out of 100 samples (6%) were hBoV positive, 10 (10%) were parainfluenza virus positive, 12 (12%) tested positive for adenovirus, 58 (58%) were rhinovirus positive and none of the samples gave positive results for coronavirus. Sixteen samples showed mixed infection with rhinovirus, eight of these (8%) with parainfluenza virus, 6 (6%) with adenovirus, and 2 (2%) with hBoV. There were no significant differences between the viral infected and non-infected patients with respect to age, gender, crowding status, gestational age, diagnosis at presenting and hospital stay (the average stay of viral-infected patients in the hospital was three days). In contrast, exposure to smoking was significantly more associated with viral-infected children than virus-free children (80% vs. 44.83%, P<0.001). In addition, viral infected children showed significantly less proportion for need for intensive care unit than virus-free children (15.5% vs. 79.31%, P<0.001). Breastfeeding was found to have significant adverse association with viral infection (P<0.001). About one-third of viral infected children had a medical history involving a disease other than respiratory infection (P<0.001). Finally, viral-infected children were reported to have longer period of illness before hospital admission (6.32±5.49 days) than virus-free children (6.32±5.49 days vs. 3.38±2.37 days, P<0.01). Conclusion: More than two third of children with respiratory tract infection have been viral infection either single or mixed. Multiplex RT PCR has the potential for clinical use in the rapid and differential detection of viral infection. Keywords: Viral respiratory tract infection, Children, Multiplex Real Time PCR.

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