Journal of clinical virology : the official publication of the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology
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Human rhinoviruses (HRVs) are common causes of upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) in hematologic malignancy (HM) patients. Predictors of lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) including the impact of HRV species and types are poorly understood. ⋯ HRVs are associated with LRTI in HM patients. Illness severity is not attributable to specific HRV species or types. The frequent detection of bacterial co-pathogens in HRV LRTIs further substantiates the hypothesis that HRVs predispose to bacterial superinfection of the lower airways, similar to that of other community-acquired respiratory viruses.
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Enterovirus 68 (EV-D68) causes acute respiratory tract illness in epidemic cycles, most recently in Fall 2014, but clinical characteristics of severe disease are not well reported. ⋯ EV-D68 causes severe disease in the pediatric population, particularly in children with asthma and recurrent wheeze; children may require multiple adjunctive respiratory therapies.
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Timely detection of influenza viruses is required to facilitate infection control measures and appropriate patient management. The Alere™ i Influenza A&B assay for detection of viral RNA and multianalyte mariPOC(®) test for detection of viral antigens enable rapid detection of influenza viruses with little hands-on time. ⋯ The mariPOC test proved insensitive for detection of influenza A virus and therefore unsuitable for individual patient diagnosis without confirmatory testing. In contrast, the Alere i Influenza A&B assay was reasonably sensitive and specific for detection of influenza A and B virus, although decreased detection of specimens with low viral load was observed particularly for detection of influenza B virus. Taken together with its rapidity and ease of use, the Alere i influenza A&B assay is a welcome alternative to immunochromatographic rapid influenza detection tests and may provide timely results that enable appropriate patient care and management of patient flow during high-prevalence seasons.
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Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) has received considerable recent attention as a cause of widespread respiratory illness. Neurological syndromes such as acute flaccid paralysis following EV-D68 infection have also been reported in a small number of cases. ⋯ EV-D68 has been circulating in Western Australia and is likely to have also been present in the wider region for a number of years, causing primarily respiratory disease. Detection of EV-D68 in cerebrospinal fluid of one patient and in faeces of two AFP cases reinforces the association between EV-D68 and neurological disease.
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Since the discovery of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in 2012, diagnostic protocols were quickly published and deployed globally. ⋯ The first external quality assessment MERS-CoV panel gives a good insight in molecular diagnostic techniques and their performances for sensitive and specific detection of MERS-CoV RNA globally. Overall, all laboratories were capable of detecting MERS-CoV with some differences in sensitivity. The observation that 8% of laboratories reported false MERS-CoV positive single assay results shows room for improvement, and the importance of using confirmatory targets.