ABSTRACT
This study assessed the presence of influenza virus among young children and the coverage of vaccination from 2010 to 2012 in São Paulo, Brazil. Our results demonstrated a lower rate of influenza detection and a predominance of influenza B. A decrease of coverage vaccination through the surveillance periods was observed.
Subject(s)
Child, Preschool , Humans , Infant , Influenza Vaccines/administration & dosage , Influenza, Human/epidemiology , Influenza, Human/prevention & control , Vaccination , Brazil/epidemiology , Epidemiological Monitoring , Influenza Vaccines/immunology , Influenza, Human/virology , Orthomyxoviridae/classification , Orthomyxoviridae/isolation & purification , PrevalenceABSTRACT
Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) causes severe infections among children and immunocompromised patients. We compared HRSV infections among Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant program (HSCT) patients and children using direct immunofluorescence (DFA), point-of-care RSV Bio Easy® and a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Overall, 102 samples from HSCT patients and 128 from children obtained positivity rate of 18.6% and 14.1% respectively. PCR sensitivity was highest mainly on samples collected after five days of symptoms onset. A combination of both DFA and reverse transcriptase-PCR methods for HSCT high-risk patients is the best diagnostic flow for HRSV diagnosis among these patients.