[Parainfluenza virus infections in pediatric patients with acute respiratory infections in Beijing during 2001 - 2003].
OBJECTIVE
To understand the relationship of parainfluenza virus (PIV) and acute respiratory infections in infants and young children in Beijing, occurred in recent years.


METHODS
3141 throat swab/nasopharyngeal aspirate specimens were collected from infants and young children with acute respiratory tract infections in Beijing from Jan 2001 to Dec 2003. All of these 3141 specimens were inoculated into MDCK cells for influenza virus and PIV isolation, since PIV had been isolated in MDCK cells in this laboratory from preliminary studies. Out of 3141 specimens, 702 were inoculated into MDCK as well as Vero cells to compare the sensitivity on virus isolation of these cell lines by micro plate method. Growth of PIV in cell culture were identified by haemoagglutination test and indirect immunofluorescent assay.


RESULTS
The PIV positive cases in Vero cells were also positive in MDCK cells, indicating that the sensitivity for PIV isolation in MDCK was equal to Vero cells. Out of these 3141 specimens, 94 (3.0%) were PIV positive, including 35 (35/1191, 2.9%) of PIV1, 11 (11/1191, 0.9%) of PIV3 in upper respiratory tract infections; 15 (15/1634, 0.9%) of PIV1, 24 (24/1634, 1.5%) of PIV3 in lower respiratory tract infections; 3 (3/207, 1.4%) of PIV in asthma; 1 (1/38) of PIV in patients with fever; 5 (5/71) of PIV in others. Data indicated that among upper respiratory tract infections caused by PIV, PIV1 was more commonly seen than PIV3.


CONCLUSIONS
MDCK cells could be used for PIV isolation from clinical samples while PIV was one of the important pathogenic viruses causing acute respiratory tract infections in infants and young children in Beijing for the recente years.
Wang
Fang
F
Laboratory of virology, Beijing Municipal Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing 100020, China.
Zhao
Lin-qing
LQ
Deng
Jie
J
Zhu
Ru-nan
RN
Qian
Yuan
Y
D000208:Acute Disease; D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D010222:Parainfluenza Virus 1, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D010224:Parainfluenza Virus 3, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D018184:Paramyxoviridae Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000821:virology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014709:Vero Cells; D014776:Virus Cultivation / Q000379:methods*