Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Nov;7(6):1070-8.
doi: 10.1111/irv.12135. Epub 2013 Jun 25.

Respiratory virus infections in hospitalized children and adults in Lao PDR

Anne-Charlotte Sentilhes  1 , Khamla Choumlivong, Olivier Celhay, Thongchanh Sisouk, Darouny Phonekeo, Phengta Vongphrachanh, Paul Brey, Philippe Buchy
Affiliations

Respiratory virus infections in hospitalized children and adults in Lao PDR

Anne-Charlotte Sentilhes et al. Influenza Other Respir Viruses. 2013 Nov.

Abstract

Background: Acute respiratory infections are an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with a major burden of disease in developing countries. The relative contribution of viruses in acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) is, however, poorly documented in Lao PDR.

Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate the etiology of ALRI in patients of all ages in two hospitals of Laos.

Methods: Multiplex PCR/RT-PCR methods were used to target 18 major common respiratory viruses. Between August 2009 and October 2010, samples from 292 patients presenting with ALRI were collected.

Results and conclusion: Viruses were detected in 162 (55%) samples. In 48% (140/292) of the total ALRI cases, a single virus was detected while coinfections were observed in 8% (22/292) of the samples. The most frequent viruses were rhinovirus/enterovirus (35%), human respiratory syncytial virus (26%), and influenza viruses (13%). Parainfluenza viruses were detected in 9%, adenovirus in 6%, human metapneumovirus in 4%, coronaviruses (229E, NL63, OC43, HKU1) in 4%, and bocavirus in 3% of ALRI specimens. Most viral infections occurred in patients below 5 years of age. The distribution of viruses varied according to age-groups. No significant correlation was observed between the severity of the disease and the age of patients or the virus species. This study provides the description of viral etiology among patients presenting with ALRI in Lao PDR. Additional investigations are required to better understand the clinical role of the different viruses and their seasonality in Laos.

Keywords: Acute lower respiratory infection; Lao People's Democratic Republic; South-East Asia; respiratory viruses.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Positivity rate for respiratory viruses detection by age‐group. N represents the number of cases in each age‐group.% in bracket represents the proportion of patients included in the age‐group in comparison with the total population.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Proportion of each virus/group of viruses detected in respiratory samples.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Incidence of respiratory virus infections in two main age‐groups. **P < 0·05, ***P < 0·001.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Climate in Lao PDR (A), seasonal occurrences of viral respiratory infections (B), seasonality of rhinovirus/enteroviruses (C), and HRSV (D) between August 2009 and October 2010.52
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Rudan I. Epidemiology and etiology of childhood pneumonia. Bull World Health Organ 2008; 86:408–416. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Williams BG, Gouws E, Boschi‐Pinto C, Bryce J, Dye C. Estimates of world‐wide distribution of child deaths from acute respiratory infections. Lancet Infect Dis 2002; 2:25–32. - PubMed
    1. Mizgerd JP. Lung infection–a public health priority. PLoS Med 2006; 3:e76. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Coker RJ, Hunter BM, Rudge JW, Liverani M, Hanvoravongchai P. Emerging infectious diseases in southeast Asia: regional challenges to control. Lancet 2011; 377:599–609. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bellau‐Pujol S, Vabret A, Legrand L et al Development of three multiplex RT‐PCR assays for the detection of 12 respiratory RNA viruses. J Virol Methods 2005; 126:53–63. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms