Korean J Infect Dis.
1999 Aug;31(4):303-308.
Epidemiological Analysis of Viral Respiratory Infections and Comparison of Isolation Rate of Various Clinical Specimens
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, University of Ulsan, Seoul, Korea.
- 2Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Ulsan, Seoul, Korea.
- 3Asan Institute for Life Sciences, Seoul, Korea.
Abstract
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BACKGROUND: We studied the epidemics of respiratory viral infections in Korea and examined various respiratory tract specimens for the presence of respiratory viruses, since the accuracy of rapid detection method depends, in part, on the source of the specimens.
METHODS
Over a 24-month period, from March 1997 through February 1999, a total of 1,574 clinical specimens were submitted for the detection of respiratory viruses. A shell vial technique with commercially available monoclonal antibodies directed against respiratory viruses was used to detect respiratory syncytial virus, adenovirus, influenza virus, and parainfluenza virus in clinical specimens, which included throat swab, nasopharyngeal aspirate, tracheal aspirate, and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid.
RESULTS
Overall positive rate of respiratory viruses was 73/1574 (4.6%). Respiratory viruses were predominantly found between December and February. High incidences were observed among those younger than 2 years and those older than 50 years. The numbers of viral isolates were 3/69 (4.3%) for throat swab, 26/459 (5.7%) for nasopharyngeal aspirate, 11/315 (3.2%) for tracheal aspirate, and 30/528 (5.7%) for BAL fluid.
CONCLUSIONS
Nasopharyngeal aspirate and BAL fluid appear to permit increased detection of the respiratory viruses compared with throat swab or tracheal aspirate. However, throat swab may be good specimen for the detection of influenza virus and parainfluenza virus.
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