Influenza-like illness sentinel surveillance in one hospital in Medellin, Colombia. 2007-2012.

BACKGROUND: The city of Medellin in Colombia has almost no documentation of the causes of acute respiratory infections (ARIs). As part of an ongoing collaboration, we conducted an epidemiologic surveillance for influenza and other respiratory viruses. It described the influenza strains that were circulating in the region along with their distribution over time, and performing molecular characterization to some of those strains. This will contribute to the knowledge of local and national epidemiology. OBJECTIVES: To analyze viral etiologic agents associated with influenza like illness (ILI) in participants reporting to one General hospital in Medelllin, Colombia. RESULTS: From January 2007 to December 2012, a total of 2039 participants were enrolled. Among them, 1120 (54.9%) were male and 1364 (69%) were under the age of five. Only 124 (6%) were older than the age of 15. From all 2039 participants, 1040 samples were diagnosed by either isolation or RT-PCR. One or more respiratory viruses were found in 737 (36%) participants. Of those, 426 (57.8%) got influenza A or B. Adenoviral and parainfluenza infections represented 19.1% and 14.9% of viral infections, respectively. Influenza A was detected almost throughout the whole year except for the first quarter of 2010, right after the 2009 influenza A pandemic. Influenza B was detected in 2008, 2010, and 2012 with no pattern detected. During 2008 and 2010, both types circulated in about the same proportion. Unusually, in many months of 2012, the proportion of influenza B infections was higher than influenza A (ranging between 30% and 42%). The higher proportion of adenovirus was mainly detected in the last quarter of years 2007 and 2010. Adenoviral cases are more frequent in participants under the age of four. CONCLUSIONS: The phylogenetic analysis of influenza viruses shows that only in the case of influenza A/H1N1, the circulating strains totally coincide with the vaccine strains each year.

[Human metapneumovirus in children: first cases in Colombia]. / Metaneumovirus humano en niños: primeros casos en Colombia.

Human metapneumovirus is a newly discovered pathogen associated with respiratory disease and occurring mainly in children. It produces an acute viral respiratory disease picture that varies from mild disease to severe, and which can require strict surveillance in intensive care units. Currently, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and cell culture are the most common methods for its diagnosis. The first six cases of human metapneumovirus in Colombia are presented from Medellín.

Metaneumovirus humano en niños: primeros casos en Colombia / Human metapneumovirus in children: first cases in Colombia

El metaneumovirus humano es un nuevo patógeno asociado a infecciones respiratorias, principalmente en niños, que produce cuadros clínicos que van desde leves hasta graves, los cuales pueden incluso requerir tratamiento en unidades de cuidados intensivos. Hasta el momento, la reacción en cadena de la polimerasa con transcripción inversa y el cultivo celular son los métodos más usados para su diagnóstico. Se presentan los seis primeros casos de metapneumovirus humano en niños de Medellín, Colombia.

Human metapneumovirus is a newly discovered pathogen associated with respiratory disease and occurring mainly in children. It produces an acute viral respiratory disease picture that varies from mild disease to severe, and which can require strict surveillance in intensive care units. Currently, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and cell culture are the most common methods for its diagnosis. The first six cases of human metapneumovirus in Colombia are presented from Medellín.

Frecuencia de rotavirus en niños menores de cinco años con diarrea aguda: primer informe; estudio en un grupo de niños de la ciudad de Medellín (Colombia) / Frequency of rotavirus in children under 5 with acute diarrhea: first report; study in a group of children in Medellín city (Colombia)

La gastroenteritis infantil no bacteriana es la principal causa de morbi-mortalidad en infantes y menores en los países en desarrollo y entre los agentes virales asociados se encuentra, principalmente, los rotavirus que producen un 30-65% de las diarreas que requieren hospitalización en dichos países. La mayor frecuencia se sitúa entre los 6-12 meses de edad, luego sigue el grupo de 0-6 meses, para declinar a partir de los años y hacerse rara en mayores de cinco años, sin que el sexo parezca tener influencia. El mecanismo de transmisión es la ruta oro-fecal y como el promedio de incubación es de 48 horas ello aumenta la posibilidad de disminución de la enfermedad sobre todo en las condiciones de hacinamiento, mala higiene y desnutrición. De ntre diversos métodos para detectar los rotavirus en materias fecales, este trabajo propone la detección por la prueba ELISA, haciendo observaciones en un grupo de 124 niños, de uno y otro sexo, con edades entre 0-5 años ingresados con diarrea aguda en los Hospitales Municipal, Cruz Roja e Infantil Caicedo de la ciudad de Medellín (Colombia). Se estudian los signos clínicos más frecuentes en niños con síndrome diarreico agudo, las características de la diarrea, la influencia del sexo y asociar la posibilidad para rotavirus con el estado de nutrición e hidratación del paciente al ingreso al hospital y con los grados de desnutrición y deshidratación. Se encontró una frecuencia de infección por rotavirus de 35.5% en el grupo estudiado de 124 niños con cuadro de diarrea aguda