RESPIRATORY SYNCYTIAL VIRUS-INFECTION - POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION, IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE AND CULTURE

Respiratory synctial virus (RSV) is the most common cause of respiratory illness during human infancy, particularly among infants under 6 months of age. At the laboratory of Virology at the CHR-Rouen we have developed a method of viral detection based on reverse transcription (RT) and amplification of viral nucleic acid sequences by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). This procedure was used to screen for RSV in nasopharyngeal aspirates from children with suspected respiratory infections between January and May 1993. Sixty patients under one year of age were included in the study. The PCR approach was compared to classic methods of diagnosis: the results were in good agreement. PCR also identified whether the virus was type A or B. But PCR is laborious, difficult and very expensive. It is still better suited to research than diagnosis.