Epidemiology of 11 respiratory RNA viruses in a cohort of hospitalized children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Respiratory tract infections are a principal cause of illness and mortality in children worldwide and mostly caused by viruses. In this study, the epidemiology of 11 respiratory RNA viruses was investigated in a cohort of hospitalized children at a tertiary referral center in Riyadh from February 2008 to March 2009 using conventional and real-time monoplex RT-PCR assays. Among 174 nasopharyngeal aspirates, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was detected in 39 samples (22.

Human parainfluenza virus type 2 hemagglutinin-neuramindase gene: sequence and phylogenetic analysis of the Saudi strain Riyadh 105/2009.

Background: Although human parainfluenza type 2 (HPIV-2) virus is an important respiratory pathogen, a little is known about strains circulating in Saudi Arabia.

Findings: Among 180 nasopharyngeal aspirates collected from suspected cases in Riyadh, only one sample (0.56%) was confirmed HPIV-2 positive by nested RT-PCR.

Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of human parainfluenza virus type 3 isolated from Saudi Arabia.

Human parainfluenza virus 3 (HPIV-3) is a leading cause of respiratory disease in children worldwide. Previous sequence analyses of the entire virus genome, among different HPIV-3 strains, demonstrated that HN is the most variable gene. There is a dearth of data on HPIV-3 strains circulating in Saudi Arabia.