Two consecutive nosocomial outbreaks of parainfluenza 3, in which 5 of 15 infected patients died, occurred in an adult bone marrow transplant unit. Parainfluenza 3 strain variation was assessed by reverse transcription-PCR sequencing of part of the parainfluenza 3 F gene, including the noncoding region, directly from clinical samples. Sequence data from the outbreaks were compared with those fr...

An indirect fluorescence antibody (IFA) procedure was used for the rapid detection of respiratory viruses in direct clinical specimens and for determining the epidemiology of viruses in a community hospital setting. Viral respiratory diseases were monitored for 10 consecutive respiratory seasons. The Bartels Viral Respiratory Screening and Identification Kit is an IFA method that contains poole...

Parainfluenza 3 virus is a frequent cause of respiratory infections in the pediatric population although it is uncommonly diagnosed in neonates, being usually reported as neonatal intensive care unit microepidemics. We report a case of parainfluenza 3 respiratory infection associated with pericardial effusion in a very low birthweight infant.

BACKGROUND Many acute respiratory illness surveillance systems collect and test nasopharyngeal (NP) and/or oropharyngeal (OP) swab specimens, yet there are few studies assessing the relative measures of performance for NP versus OP specimens. METHODS We collected paired NP and OP swabs separately from pediatric and adult patients with influenza-like illness or severe acute respiratory illness...

Parainfluenza viruses are important causes of respiratory disease in both children and adults. In particular, they are the major cause of the serious childhood illness croup (laryngotracheobronchitis). The infections produced by parainfluenza viruses are associated with the accumulation of ions and fluid in the respiratory tract. It is not known, however, whether this accumulation is because of...

Human parainfluenza virus (HPIV) is a common cause of upper and lower respiratory illness in infants and young children. In order to classify the HPIV isolates circulating in the central part of Thailand, 650 samples obtained from the lower respiratory tract of patients from two hospital pediatric wards during 2010 to 2013, were analyzed for the presence and types of HPIVs by multiplex semi-nes...

BACKGROUND As the threat of zoonoses and the emergence of pandemic-prone respiratory viruses increases, there is a need to establish baseline information on the incidence of endemic pathogens in countries worldwide. OBJECTIVES To investigate the presence of viruses associated with influenza-like illnesses (ILI) in Uganda. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted in which nasopharyngeal...

BACKGROUND Human parainfluenza viruses (HPIVs) are common viral causes of community-acquired pneumonia, particularly in children. The four types of HPIV have world-wide distribution; however, limited information exists about the epidemiological profile of HPIV in Latin-America. OBJECTIVE Provide epidemiologic and phylogenetic information about HPIVs that circulated in Latin America between 20...

We have analysed data on respiratory syncytial (RS) and parainfluenza type 3 (PF3) viruses reported to the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, London, over the period 1978-87. These confirm the annual winter epidemic of RS virus and show that, in England and Wales, PF3 is a summer infection with regular yearly epidemics.

Some paramyxoviruses form long filamentous virus particles: however, the determinants of filament formation and the role of such particles in virus transmission and pathogenicity are not clearly defined. By using conventional immunofluorescence microscopy, we found that human parainfluenza virus type 2 (HPIV2) forms filamentous particles ranging from 5 to 15 microm in length in virus-infected, ...