December 15, 2007
Respiratory Virus Study Finishes Enrollment
by Lori Pruitt, YKHC Employee Health Nurse& Dr. Ros Singleton, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium
The Respiratory Virus (RSV) Study began in October 2005. The purpose of this study was to see what viruses were causing children less than 3 years old to be hospitalized with lung infections and what time of year these viruses were present. The study just finished enrollment on September 30th, 2007.
In the Respiratory Virus Study we tested nose samples on hospitalized children and healthy comparison children for several viruses: RSV, Human metapneumovirus, influenza, parainfluenza types, coronavirus and rhinovirus. We also tested for the pertussis bacteria that causes whooping cough. A total of 446 hospitalized children were enrolled in the study. Also, 648 healthy comparison children from many villages were also enrolled to see if they had any viruses. We would like to thank all the parents who consented to have their children in the study. Parents took time to answer questions and have their children's noses swabbed to test for the viruses.
The most important virus in hospitalized children was RSV. Other important viruses were parainfluenza virus, human metapneumovirus and influenza. Rhinovirus, the main cause of the common cold, was found in nearly half of hospitalized children, but it was also found in one-third of healthy control children.
While enrollment is complete, the work for the study continues. We are just completing the testing for all of the viruses. After all testing is done the results will be analyzed. From these results we hope to learn more about viruses in children of the YK Delta and find better ways to prevent and treat lung infections in children.
Thanks are also due to many people working on the study. These include the YKD Regional Hospital inpatient staff, providers, outpatient nurses and the laboratory and radiology staff. Without their help, we wouldn't have been able to complete the study. Thanks to Dr. Joe Klejka and Dr. Mehran Mosley for their guidance. Thanks to Dr. Rosalyn Singleton for overseeing the project and the staff of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Arctic Investigations Program (AIP) in Anchorage for the nurse travel to villages, laboratory testing and study analysis.
We will send a summary of the final results for this study in the Spring 2008. Our study goal is that the results of this study will help improve the health of YK Delta children!
