[Outbreak of respiratory syncytial virus in a neonatal unit]

Described is an outbreak of nosocomial RSV infection, following the admission of a 20-day-old and 11-day-old newborn with lower respiratory infections, diagnosed as being caused by RSV through detection of viral antigens by direct FAT (fluorescent antibody test) of nasopharyngeal samples. Later on, 5 of the other 20 newborn in patients in the same care unit also showed positive results in direct FAT, for RSV. The clinical manifestations of these patients were mild even in those cases with underlying PHT and cardiac disease and consisted of: cough (5/5), nasal discharge (3/5), poor feeding (1/5), sneezing (1/5), distress (1/5) and irritability (1/5). The rapid diagnosis of RSV though the direct FAT enables us to establish hygienic restrictions and patients isolation to keep the virus from spreading.