Rhinovirus C and respiratory exacerbations in children with cystic fibrosis

Abstract

To investigate a possible role for human rhinovirus C in respiratory exacerbations of children with cystic fibrosis, we conducted microbiologic testing on respiratory specimens from 103 such patients in São Paulo, Brazil, during 2006-2007. A significant association was found between the presence of human rhinovirus C and respiratory exacerbations.

Figure 1

Results of 5′ noncoding region sequencing of 93 samples with identification of human rhinovirus by real-time reverse transcription–PCR, obtained from samples from 103 children with cystic fibrosis, Brazil, 2006–2007.

Figure 2

Representative maximum-likelihood phylogenetic tree of a partial 5′ noncoding region of human rhinovirus generated with general time reversible substitution model, including gamma distribution shape parameter. Reference human rhinovirus (HRV) genotypes were obtained from the GenBank database. Echovirus 11 was defined as the outgroup. Virus isolates obtained in this study are indicated by boldface and are labeled VFC. Bootstrap values >70% in the key branches are depicted. Scale bar indicates nucleotide substitutions per site.