SEROEPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDY OF HUMAN PARAINFLUENZA VIRUSES (HPIVS) AMONG CHILDREN IN ILORIN, NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA

Abstract

Respiratory infection is an important public health problem owing to their high incidence and ease of spread in the

community and they impact significantly on health worldwide. This study was conducted to determine the sero- prevalence rate of HPIVs 1, 2 and 3 IgG antibodies and investigate certain risk factors for acquisition of infection

in children between the ages of 1 – 10 years presenting with various forms of respiratory tract infections in Ilorin, Nigeria. 200 children were enrolled into the study at University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital. Blood testing for anti HPIVs IgG was done using the commercial ELISA Diagnostic kit by R-Biopharm AG, 62927 Darmstadt Germany. A prevalence rate of 72.5% (140/200) was recorded among the tested children. Relevant demographic data and risk factors were. Age, educational level, day care attendance, residential location, presence family member with respiratory tract infection and presence of catarrh were significantly associated with the infection (p<0.05). Observation from the study showed a high level of exposure to HPIVs in infancy and early childhood among children from a representative population in major central Nigerian City. This indicates the importance of HPIVs as an agent of respiratory tract infection in children. Further studies into quantifying the antibody and distribution of subtypes are being advocated for. Also, as vaccines and drugs against HPIVs are not available in the country as of present, preventive measures should be encouraged and strictly adhered to in the control of the infection.