Virus respiratoire syncytial et virus para-influenza : diagnostic virologique

The diagnosis of infection due to the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and parainfluenza virus (PIV) rests chiefly on detection of the virus or its antigens in a nasal specimen. The diagnostic yield depends on the number of respiratory cells collected in the specimen. RSV infection can be diagnosed rapidly using immunofluorescent assays and immunoenzymetric assays. Immunofluorescent assays are more difficult technically than immunoenzymetric assays but provide an assessment of the quality of the specimen. Virus isolation in cell cultures and detection of the viral RNA by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction techniques are possible for both the RSV and the PIV; however, these sophisticated, time-consuming, and costly tests now have a limited role as diagnostic tools.