title: Surveillance for respiratory syncytial virus in infants hospitalized for acute lower respiratory infection in Chile (1989 to 2000).
abstract: Hospitalized infants (4,618) were studied for lower respiratory infections from 1989 through 2000 by routine immunofluorescence assay and viral isolation. The hospitalization rate for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) averaged 2% per year. The fatality rate was 0.1%. Monthly RSV detection varied from 14 to 88%, and epidemics lasted 3.5 to 6 months. From 1994 high-early versus low-late epidemic patterns alternately were observed, the first influenced by a group B strain.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Virología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile. lavendan@machi.med.uchile.cl
authors.forename: Luis F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Avendaño
authors.forename: María Angélica
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Palomino
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Larrañaga
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002677:Chile / Q000453:epidemiology; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011159:Population Surveillance; D018357:Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology; D018113:Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D012621:Seasons