Abstract
Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) causes severe infections among children and immunocompromised patients. We compared HRSV infections among Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant program (HSCT) patients and children using direct immunofluorescence (DFA), point-of-care RSV Bio Easy(r) and a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Overall, 102 samples from HSCT patients and 128 from children obtained positivity rate of 18.6% and 14.1% respectively. PCR sensitivity was highest mainly on samples collected after five days of symptoms onset. A combination of both DFA and reverse transcriptase-PCR methods for HSCT high-risk patients is the best diagnostic flow for HRSV diagnosis among these patients.
Highlights
The human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) is considered the major cause of lower respiratory tract infections in children (Gardner et al 1967, Kesson 2007) and an important agent of acute respiratory infection in the elderly and immunocompromised patients accounting for more than 50% of the mortality rate in human stem cell transplant patients (HSCT) (Ebbert & Limper 2005)
For evaluation of the possible relation between RSV circulation in community and HSCT patients infection these techniques were applied in conjunction with a community survey among children presenting acute respiratory symptoms suspected of viral infection
The frequency of HRSV infections in both groups was the same in the first month of the study, which shows a possible link between the infection of HSCT patients and an increased circulation of the virus in the children of the community
Summary
The human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) is considered the major cause of lower respiratory tract infections in children (Gardner et al 1967, Kesson 2007) and an important agent of acute respiratory infection in the elderly and immunocompromised patients accounting for more than 50% of the mortality rate in human stem cell transplant patients (HSCT) (Ebbert & Limper 2005). The aim of this study was to evaluate the better diagnostic flow for HRSV detection among patients in the HSCT using the following techniques: direct immunofluorescence assay (DFA), immunochromatographic point-of-care RSV Bio Easy® (PC) assay and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). 11 samples were positive using DFA and RT-PCR, showing a concordance of 94.5% between these techniques.
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