Microbiologic Studies on Young Infants With Lower Respiratory Tract Disease

Abstract

Viral infections account for most lower respiratory tract infections in young infants (less than 60 days of age). Respiratory syncytial and parainfluenza 3 virus infections accounted for approximately three fourths of the identified virus infections.Other agents were isolated infrequently.Overall, viruses were recovered from 21% of the infants with pneumonia and 25% of the infants with bronchiolitis. Sixteen (18.0%) of 89 infants from whom paired sera were collected had diagnostic antibody rises. Four of five infants with bacteremia also had virus infections. Viral infections of the respiratory tract may play a role in the dissemination of bacterial disease.In infants and children, most lower respiratory tract illnesses are attributable to virus infections.14 Few of these illnesses are due to bac¬ terial or mycoplasma infection.4·5 The etiology and clinical features of acute lower respiratory tract illnesses of neonates and infants younger than 60 the departments of medicine and of preventive medicine and community health,

Outbreak of Pneumonia in a Long‐term Care Facility: Antecedent Human Parainfluenza Virus 1 Infection May Predispose to Bacterial Pneumonia

“…Bacterial pneumonia, especially pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus , is a recognized complication of influenza infection 1–4 . Infection with other respiratory viruses has also been postulated to predispose to bacterial pneumonia, 5–8 but this relationship is less well characterized. We describe an outbreak of pneumococcal pneumonia associated with symptomatic human parainfluenza type 1 virus (HPIV1) infection among residents of a long‐term care facility.…”