Acquisition of Parainfluenza 3 Virus Infection by Hospitalized Children. I. Frequencies, Rates, and Temporal Data

Abstract

Among 197 hospitalized, uninfected, contact infants, one-fifth acquired parainfluenza 3 virus infection during hospitalization. These secondary cases of infection occurred throughout the year. Acquisition of parainfluenza 3 virus by uninfected contacts was temporally related to the admission of a cluster of index patients and usually occurred between the fourth and 15th day of hospitalization. Secondary cases as a group remained hospitalized significantly longer than uninfected contacts; about one-third of the secondary cases developed a new, mild respiratory tract illness. It is suggested that the institution of minimal procedures of isolation, restriction of the numbers of personnel on the ward, and shorter hospital stays might help to decrease the frequency of nosocomial respiratory virus infections.