Abstract

PREVALENCE OF RESPIRATORY SYNCYTIAL VIRUS CHILDREN WITH INFLUENZA-LIKE ILLNESS SYMPTOMS FROM SELECTED HOSPITALS IN UGANDA
Nampewo Elizabeth
Email: nampewozabetha@gmail.com
Department of Population Studies, School of Statistics and Applied Economics, Makerere University, P.O.Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.

Theme: Leaving no one behind
ABSTRACT
As the emergence of pandemic prone respiratory viruses increases in Uganda, it is important to establish baseline information on the prevalence of respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) which is one of the leading viral causative agents of Influenza like illness worldwide. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of RSV in Uganda.
A retrospective study was carried out on archived throat/nasopharyngeal samples obtained from five hospitals during an Influenza surveillance study done by Makerere University Walter Reed Project (MUWRP) in period 2008-2014. Samples were tested by Nested- reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assay. Out of the 800 throat/nasopharyngeal samples, 102 samples (12.75%) were positive for RSV. The prevalence of RSV was highest among children aged 5 years and below (PR=1.76, 95% C.I 0.81-3.8) with most cases occurring in the dry season (PR=1.00, 95% C.I 0.5-1.1). By hospital, Bugiri hospital had the highest prevalence (15%) followed by Mulago hospital (13.55%), Gulu hospital (13.02%), Jinja hospital (10.88%), and lastly Kayunga hospital (3.57%).
In conclusion, these findings are useful in supporting the existing data from other countries that RSV is still a global issue which requires effective measures like vaccines to be enforced.
Key words: RSV- Respiratory syncytial virus.