Affiliations: Istituto Superiore di Sanità, National Public
Health Institute, Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-Mediated
Diseases, Rome, Italy | Medical Research Institute, Alexandria University,
Alexandria, Egypt | Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University,
Alexandria, Egypt | Infectious Diseases Clinic, University Tor Vergata,
Rome, Italy
Note: [] Correspondence: Dr. Alessandra Ciervo, PhD, Department of
Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-Mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di
Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299-00161, Rome, Italy. Tel.: +39 6 49903127;
Fax: +39 6 49387183; E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are the leading cause of
pediatric morbidity and mortality worldwide. Information on etiological agents
of ARI in developing countries is still limited. This study conducted in
Alexandria, Egypt, was designed to determine the prevalence of several
microorganisms in 113 children hospitalized with ARI. Overall, 65 agents were
identified; 58 (51.3%) individuals were found to be positive for at least one
pathogen, and seven of them were also positive for two agents. Chlamydophila
pneumoniae was the most commonly detected agent (n=32; 28.3%), followed by
Mycoplasma pneumoniae, respiratory syncytial and influenza. Positivity for C.
pneumoniae, which was the most commonly detected agent, was associated with
male sex and with mild disease of the upper respiratory tract.
