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Children with RSV coinfection may have more severe disease
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Children are commonly infected with more than one virus, and in children with respiratory syncytial virus, this coinfection often leads to increased severity and could complicate treatment, according to study findings published online.
Koya Ariyoshi, MD, PhD, of the department of clinical medicine, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University in Japan, and colleagues published data from a prospective study conducted between April 2009 and March 2010 on 371 Japanese children aged younger than 5 years. All of the children had an acute respiratory infection and were tested for RSV.
Ariyoshi and colleagues reported that 61% of the patients had RSV and 18% had double or triple infections with other respiratory viruses, according to results of polymerase chain reaction testing of nasopharyngeal swab samples.
The researchers reported that in those children who had multiple viruses, pneumonia was more commonly observed, although this finding was not significant.
The researchers noted some study limitations, specifically that the study was cross-sectional, and that the specimens were not tested for viral load.
Regardless, they said their findings back other research of increased severity when more than two viruses are detected.
Disclosure: Ariyoshi reports no relevant financial disclosures.
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