A Prospective Study on Respiratory Viral Pathogens Causing Acute Lower Respiratory Infections in Children below Five Years of Age at a Tertiary Care Hospital of India

Introduction: The lower respiratory tract infections are a major cause of mortality in children below five years of age. Majority of the time the infection is self-limiting but often gets severe and fatal depending on various factors like age, aetiology, time of diagnosis, appropriate treatment, etc. Aim: To study viral aetiology of Acute Lower Respiratory tract Infections (ALRI) using multiplex real time qualitative Polymerase Chain Reactions (qPCR) among hospitalised children under five years of age. Materials and Methods: This was a hospital based prospective study conducted over a period of two years from June 2015 to May 2017, a throat and nasal swab was collected from 512 children <= 5 years who were being hospitalised for ALRI. The samples were tested by multiplex qPCR to detect viral and p<0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: Out of 512 cases, 317 children were further studied. It was found that highest number of ALRI were observed in children of age less than six months i.e., 38.9% followed by 29.4%, 14.8% and 16.9% in the age group of 6-12 months, 12-24 months and 24-60 months, respectively. The one/more viral pathogens were detected in 58.3% (185/317) children. Respiratory Synctial Virus (RSV) was most common virus detected in 51.9% followed by Human Rhinovirus (HRV) in 23.2%. RSV was found to be statistically significant in infants and causes very severe ALRI. Conclusion: The use of multiplex qPCR has clarified the scenario of different respiratory viral aetiologies causing ALRI in different age group of children. The study results enhance knowledge for making strategy to prevent severity of ALRI in different age group, seasons and geographical area.