Respiratory syncytial virus subgroup A in hospitalized children in Zarqa, Jordan

Abstract

The epidemiology of RSV infection was investigated in 271 children aged less than 2 years admitted to the Zarqa Government Hospital, Jordan with bronchiolitis or bronchopneumonia. Nasopharyngeal washings were cultured and RSV antigen was detected by the direct immunofluorescence technique. Of the 271 specimens, 69 (25.46%) were positive for RSV, representing 50.36% of the respiratory viruses. All RSV isolates were typed as subgroup A by monoclonal antibody and confirmed by RT-PCR. RSV was prevalent in the hospitalised children in the coldest months of the year. The epidemics began in January or February, peaked in spring and then disappeared in summer. This study supports the idea that RSV subgroup A is a major contributor to winter outbreaks of respiratory tract disease in children, and health care workers in Jordan should consider the diagnosis during January-May each year.

Epidemiological and antigenic analysis of respiratory syncytial virus in hospitalised Tunisian children, From 2000 to 2002

“…This result is similar to that found in similar studies in both industrialised and developing countries: 28% in Brazil [Checon et al, 2002], 21% in Austria [Resch et al, 2002], 16.2% in Germany [Weigl et al, 2002], 18.4% in Malaysia [Chan et al, 2002], and 25.46% in Jordan [Bdour, 2001]. There were considerable variations in the start and the end of the yearly epidemic.…”

Molecular epidemiology of human respiratory syncytial virus in Iran

“…This finding was similar to that found in developed and developing countries: 21% in Austria (10), 16.2% in Germany (11), 18.4% in Malaysia (12) and 25.46% in Jordan (13).…”

Natural history and epidemiology of respiratory syncytial virus infection in the Middle East: Hospital surveillance for children under age two in Jordan

“…In our 2010-2013 surveillance window, RSV was a major cause of ARI hospitalizations in Jordanian children <2 years, with consistent annual peaks in January and February. Our study represents one of the largest cohort studies of RSV-infected hospitalized children, including within the Middle East [10][11][12][13][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]. RSV is well-recognized cause of ARI globally [2], but even comprehensive reports typically fail to include information from the Middle East region due to lack of published data.…”