Viral co-infections among children with confirmed measles at hospitals in Hanoi,Vietnam,2014

Objective:To characterize viral co-infections among representative hospitalized measles cases during the 2014 Hanoi outbreak.Methods:Throat swabs were collected from 54 pediatric patients with confirmed measles,and molecular diagnostics performed for 10 additional viral respiratory pathogens(Influenza A/H1N1pdm09;A/H3N2 and influenza B;Parainfluenza 1,2,3;Respiratory Synctial Virus,RSV;human Metapneumovirus,hM PV;Adenovirus and Picornavirus).Results:Twenty-one cases(38.9%) showed evidence of infection with other respiratory viruses:15 samples contained measles plus one additional virus,and 6 samples contained measles plus 2 additional viruses.Adenovirus was detected as a predominant cause of co-infections(13 cases;24.1%),followed by RSV(6 cases;11.1%),A/H1N1pdm09(3 cases;5.6%),PIV3(3 cases;3.7%),Rhinovirus(3 cases;3.7%) and hM PV(1 case;1.96%).Conclusions:Viral co-infections identified from pediatric measles cases may have contributed to increased disease severity and high rate of fatal outcomes.Optimal treatment of measles cases may require control of multiple viral respiratory pathogens.