Influenza virus infections in pediatric oncology patients

Influenza virus infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortaliy in pediatric oncology patients. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of influenza virus infections and influenza A virus subtypes in pediatric oncology and hematology patients. Between January 2014 and September 2017, nasopharyngeal swab specimens were collected by flocked swabs (Copan Diagnostics, Italy) from 134 children with respiratory tracy infection. Real-time PCR test (RealStar Influenza S & T RT-PCR Kit 3.0, Altona Diagnostics, Germany) was used to investigate the presence of influenza A and B virus and direct fluorescent antibody test (Argene SA, France) was performed for antigen detection. Influenza A virus-positive samples were analyzed by influenza A H1N1 and H3N2 Real-TM PCR test (Sacace, Italy) to identify H1N1 and H3N2 subtypes. Of 134 children, influenza virus was found in %41 (55), of which influenza A virus in 35% (47) and influenza B virus in 6% (8) by real-time PCR test. Of influenza A virus positive samples, 25 (18.7%) were influenza A/H1N1 and 22 (16.4%) were influenza A/H3N2. In comparison to real-time PCR test, sensitivity of DFA test for influenza A and influenza B virus was 83%, 100% and specificity was 97.7% and 100%, respectively. In conclusion, early diagnosis of influenza virus infections in pediatric oncology and hematology patients using real-time PCR test will prevent serious influenza-related complications by starting antiviral treatment on time.