Viral Respiratory and Gastrointestinal Infections in Children Under 6 Years of Age

Viral Respiratory and Gastrointestinal Infections in Children Under 6 Years of Age - the Clinical Relevance of Newly Discovered Viruses

With the use of molecular methods new viruses have been detected in respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts of both patients and asymptomatic subjects in recent years. The clinical importance of these viruses has not been adequately studied.

The aim of this study is to use molecular methods to detect viruses in upper respiratory tract and gastrointestinal tract of children with acute bronchiolitis, acute gastroenteritis and febrile convulsions and to try to correlate the severity of clinical picture with the amount of viruses present in clinical samples. The investigators will also try to detect the increase in specific antibodies in paired sera.

Inclusion Criteria:

presence of

• acute bronchiolitis
• acute gastroenteritis
• febrile convulsion requiring hospital admission

Exclusion Criteria:

• none