Characterization of human parainfluenza virus-3 circulating in Israel, 2012-2015.

Background: Human parainfluenza virus 3 (hPIV-3) causes respiratory tract infection.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiology of hPIV-3 infection among hospitalized patients and characterize the circulating strains.

Study Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted using respiratory samples of 15,946 hospitalized patients with respiratory symptoms in 2012-2015 in Israel.