Viral etiology of acute respiratory diseases in Rio de Janeiro: first two years of a longitudinal study.

A two-year study was undertaken to establish the incidence and possible viral etiology of acute respiratory diseases among the child population of a shanty town in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The results demonstrated that nearly half of all the illnesses seen were respiratory infections, 10% of them affecting the lower respiratory tract. Viruses were isolated from 20% of the throat swabs collected. Of the viruses identified, 47% were adenoviruses, 25% were enteroviruses, 9% were influenza A, 8% herpes simplex, 7% parainfluenza, 3% respiratory syncytial and 1% influenza B viruses.