Incidence of RS virus infections in premature children's ward.

In the course of two years (1974-76) four outbreaks of acute respiratory disease in the premature children's ward of a Prague hospital were studied virologically and clinically. RS virus (RSV) was found to be the aetiological agent. The highest isolation rate of RSV was achieved when using two heteroploid cell lines (L-132 and HEp-2 cells) simultaneously. Of the 30 children examined, 60% showed a severe course of disease (pneumonia and/or bronchiolitis) while in 40% of the children the disease had the form of rhinitis with striking abundance of whitish foamy secretions. In one of the outbreaks under study, two nurses with mild afebrile pharyngitis were detected as the source of RSV infection.