Role of influenza Virus as A causative agent of acute upper respiratory tract infection in Port Said

ABSTRACT

Two hundred patients diagnosed clinically as having acute upper respiratory illness [URl] together with 30 normal healthy individuals as controls were the subject of this study, Influenza viruses were detected in 86 [43%] patients, none of the controls showed isolation of influenza viruses. As regards the relation between influenza viruses and different respiratory syndromes, our study revealed that the commonest respiratory syndrome was nasopharyngitis [46.55] followed by common cold and laryngitis accounting for 34.9% and 18.6% respectively, Studying the causative strains of influenza viruses, it was found that 17 out of the 22 tested specimens reacted with antisera against influenze type A/Bangkok/1/79 [H[3]N[2]] and 5 specimens with antisera against influenza type A/Brazil/78 [H[1]N[1]]. None of the specimens showed reaction with antisera against influenza type B/Singapore/78