[Hemorrhagic pneumonia caused by influenza virus: virological diagnosis]. / Neumonía hemorrágica por Influenza virus: diagnóstico virológico.

The paper presents the case of a female patient who was admitted to "Calixto García" General Hospital with respiratory distress and hypovolemic or septic shock. She was diagnosed with viral hemorrhagic pneumonia. From the endotracheal secretion taken as a sample, the influenza virus was isolated as etiological agent, which, through the hemaglutination inhibition technique, was characterized as a strain belonging to H3N2 subtype, very similar to strain A/Johannesburg/33/94 from the antigenic viewpoint. The patient recovered satisfactorily after being treated with rivabirin.

[Diagnosis of an acute respiratory infection outbreak in children under 3 years of age in Santiago de Cuba]. / Diagnóstico de un brote de infección respiratoria aguda en niños menores de 3 años en Santiago de Cuba.

In November, 1996, there was an outbreak of acute respiratory infection in children under 3 in the province of Santiago de Cuba. 7 samples of nasopharyngeal exudates were received to determine the causal agent of the outbreak by indirect immunofluorescence technique (4 positive samples, 57.14%). They were inoculated in MDCK cells culture and those cases that presented positive hemadsorption (6 isolates, 85.71%) were analyzed by indirect immunofluorescence techniques (6 positive samples, 100%) and immunoperoxidase (5 positive samples, 83.3%). All the positive samples were classified as influenza A (subtype H3N2) which confirms what is reported in literature in relation to the circulation of this virus during that year at the national and international level. This paper allowed to know the causal agent of the studied outbreak of acute respiratory infection and to determine the circulation of the influenza A subtype H3N2 in that province.

[Outbreak of viral meningoencephalitis. Comparison of 2 biological systems used for isolation of the virus]. / Estudio de un brote de meningoencefalitis viral. Comparación de 2 sistemas biológicos empleados para el aislamiento.

An increase of the cases of viral meningoencephalitis was reported in our country from October to December, 1995. 23 faeces specimens were received from 2 provinces aimed at obtaining the viral isolation by their inoculation in cell culture and in newborn mice at the same time in order to compare the sensitivity of both systems in isolation. A higher number of isolations was obtained in cell culture. The cell culture from kidney of a normal adult green African monkey (Vero) proved to be more sensitive. 18 isolations were obtained and identified as Coxsackievirus B5. An anatomical and pathological study was conducted in inoculated mice and injuries compatible with the enteroviral infection were observed.