Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection in Children Referred to Kasra Hospital in Tehran during the Period of 2012-2014

Background and Aims: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is common in infants and young children. In infants younger than one year old it may cause bronchiolitis and pneumonia which requires hospitalization. Accurate and rapid diagnosis of the disease will help proper treatment of the disease and prevent further complications. Materials and Methods: Specimen taken from respiratory tract of sick children were processed and fixed for immunofluorescence staining. Monoclonal antibody conjugate specific for RSV was used and the specimens were examined by a UV microscope. Results: In this study most of the infection occurred during the winter month such as Nov, Dec and Jan. From168 patients, 111 referred from Dec to Feb and 51% of them were positive. Most of the patient were under one year and the majority were up to 8 month old. However there was one patient, a 36 old woman which was positive indicating that RSV infection can occur in adults. There were no significant changes in infection between the males and females. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that disease is common during the winter time in children in Tehran and a rapid reliable test such as immunofluorescence should be applied for prompt detection of the disease and its proper treatment.