Detection of Pneumocystis carinii f. sp. hominis and viruses in presumably immunocompetent infants who died in the hospital or in the community.
Fresh-frozen lung and tracheal-aspirate specimens obtained from 112 infants who died in Santiago, Chile, during 1998-2000 were analyzed for the presence of Pneumocystis DNA, by use of nested DNA amplification of the large subunit mitochondrial rRNA, and for the presence of viruses, by use of culture and immunofluorescence. Pneumocystis DNA was detected in specimens from 45 (51.7%) of 87 infants who died in the community and from 5 (20%) of 25 infants who died in the hospital (P=.006). Primary infection with Pneumocystis was highly frequent among infants who die unexpectedly in the community. Infection with viruses was more common in infants who died in the hospital.
Vargas
Sergio L
SL
Programas de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciencias Biomedicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile. svargas@terra.cl
Ponce
Carolina A
CA
Luchsinger
Vivian
V
Silva
Cecilia
C
Gallo
Myriam
M
López
René
R
Belletti
José
J
Velozo
Luis
L
Avila
Ricardo
R
Palomino
Maria A
MA
Benveniste
Samuel
S
Avendaño
Luis F
LF
D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000032:analysis; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000032:analysis; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000032:analysis; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006801:Humans; D007121:Immunocompetence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008168:Lung / Q000382:microbiology / Q000821:virology; D045363:Pneumocystis carinii / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011020:Pneumonia, Pneumocystis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013398:Sudden Infant Death / Q000209:etiology*; D014132:Trachea / Q000382:microbiology / Q000821:virology; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014780:Viruses / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*
D004271:DNA, Fungal; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal