Abstract
BackgroundThis study was carried out to determine causative agents of acute respiratory illness of patients in Khartoum State, Sudan.MethodsFour hundred patients experiencing respiratory infections within January-March 2010 and January-March 2011 were admitted at Khartoum Hospital and had their throat swab samples subjected to multiplex real-time RT-PCR to detect influenza viruses (including subtypes) and other viral agents. Isolation, nucleotide sequence and phylogenetic analysis on some influenza viruses based on the HA gene were done.ResultsOut of 400 patients, 66 were found to have influenza viruses (35, 27, 2, and 2 with types A, B, C, and A and B co-infections, respectively). Influenza viruses were detected in 28, 33 and 5 patients in the age groups <1, 1–10, and 11–30 years old, respectively but none in the 31–50 years old group. Out of 334 patients negative for influenza viruses, 27, 14, and 2 were positive for human respiratory syncytial virus, rhinovirus and adenovirus, respectively. Phylogenetic tree on influenza A (H1N1) pdm09 subtype shows that Sudan strains belong to the same clade and are related to those strains from several countries such as USA, Japan, Italy, United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, Greece, Denmark, Taiwan, Turkey and Kenya. Seasonal A H3 subtypes have close similarity to strains from Singapore, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, USA and Nicaragua. For influenza B, Sudan strains belong to two different clades, and just like influenza A (H1N1) pdm09 and A H3 subtypes, seem to be part of worldwide endemic population (Kenya, USA, Brazil, Russia, Taiwan and Singapore).ConclusionsIn Sudan, the existence of respiratory viruses in patients with acute respiratory infection was confirmed and characterized for the first time by using molecular techniques.
Highlights
This study was carried out to determine causative agents of acute respiratory illness of patients in Khartoum State, Sudan
The present study aimed to identify human influenza viruses circulating in Sudan from January to March 2010 and January to March 2011, periods at which high incidence of acute respiratory infections are usually recorded [5]
Out of 334 patients that were negative for influenza viruses, 43 (13%) were found positive for other respiratory viruses
Summary
This study was carried out to determine causative agents of acute respiratory illness of patients in Khartoum State, Sudan. Influenza viruses have been well studied in developed countries. The epidemiology of influenza and the hospitalization rates associated with the Meager information is available on the epidemiology of influenza in Sudan. This is mainly due to lack of laboratory facilities and expertise. Influenza is perceived as a mild disease in a country like Sudan where other causes of fever such as malaria, kala azar, and typhoid are highly prevalent [5]. The first isolation of influenza virus in Sudan was carried out by Salim in 1970, who reported on the isolation of haemagglutinating agents from throat gargles by using chicken embryos [5]
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