Background and Aims: One of the main causes of severe respiratory infection in infants and young children is respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The disease can also occur in adults and elderly individuals and clinically not to be differentiated from other viral respiratory infection. The disease causes bronchiolitis, and sometimes pneumonia in new born and young children which requires hospital care. To differentiate the disease from other respiratory infection and rapid treatment accurate laboratory diagnosis of the disease is necessary.
Materials and Methods: specimen taken from the sick children suffering from respiratory infection were processed and fixed on the slides. They were stained with fluorescein conjugated RSV specific antibody and examined by a UV microscope.
Results: From 141 patients attending the Kasra hospital laboratories 62 of them were positive, most of the infection occurred in children with in 6 month of birth. The rate of infection was higher in the month of January and February.
Conclusions: It seems that RSV infection is common in infants and young children which occur mostly during the cold season.