An outbreak of respiratory infection due to respiratory syncytial virus subgroup B in Ankara, Turkey.
During the outbreak, from 16 January 2002 to 3 March 2002, nasopharyngeal secretions obtained from 35 pediatric patients under 2 years of age and suffering from acute respiratory disease were tested by VIDAS respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) assay (an automated enzyme-linked fluorescent immunoassay) and reverse transcription- polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RSV antigen was detected in 16 specimens by VIDAS RSV assay, and 15 of these were confirmed by the RT-PCR. A total of 18 samples were found to be positive by RT-PCR. RSV subgroup B was identified by further restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis using AvaII and BglII endonucleases in 17 of 18 (94%) RT-PCR positive samples. These findings indicated that RSV subgroup B was highly dominant during an outbreak of RSV infection among children in Ankara. To our knowledge, this is the first outbreak due to dominant RSV subgroup B documented in Turkey.
Division of Virology, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, School of Medicine, 06018 Ankara, Turkey. cguney@gata.edu.tr
Cakir
C
Guney
Ayhan
A
Kubar
Mehmet
M
Yapar
A Bulent
AB
Besirbellioglu
Levent
L
Doganci
D002675:Child, Preschool; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005453:Fluorescence; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D018357:Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D018113:Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology