title: Acute lower respiratory tract infection due to virus among hospitalized children in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
abstract: The nature of acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRI) in hospitalized children and of the associated viral agents was assessed in a study of 601 children less than 5 years old over a 24-month period. Of these children, 80% were less than 24 months of age and the ratio of boys to girls was 1.7:1. Pneumonia (86.5% of cases) was the most frequently observed clinical manifestation. Shedding of virus was detected in 21.1% of the children; the highest rate occurred in infants 0-5 months old (27%) as compared with a rate of only 12.5% in children 25-60 months old. Virus was detected in 33.3%, 32.8%, 21.2%, and 20% of the cases of tracheobronchitis, bronchiolitis, pneumonia, and croup, respectively. Among the viruses detected, 78% were respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) (91% of infections with this virus occurred in children less than 2 years old) and 14.4% were influenza virus types A and B. Of the RSV infections, 61% occurred in infants less than 1 year old. The case-fatality rate was 6.8% overall and was 4.8% in virus-associated cases. No consistent pattern of seasonal occurrence of viral infections was discerned. RSV was detected throughout the year, with increased prevalence from January to April.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Institute of Public Health, Mohakhali, Bangladesh.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Huq
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nahar
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alam
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haque
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Sack
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Butler
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Haider
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000258:Adenovirus Infections, Human / Q000453:epidemiology; D000367:Age Factors; D001459:Bangladesh / Q000453:epidemiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D018184:Paramyxoviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D011024:Pneumonia, Viral / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D012136:Respiratory Syncytial Viruses; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D010253:Respirovirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D012621:Seasons; D012737:Sex Factors; D014505:Urban Population; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality