Abstract:
Acute respiratory tract infection (RTI) is the most widespread type of acute infection
in adults and children and causes significant mortality and morbidity worldwide.
However, aetiology remains underdetermined in more than 50% of cases. The main
causal agents of community-acquired pneumoniae (CAP) are viruses, bacteria and
fungi, out of which viruses are the most common pathogens. Currently, the clinical
diagnosis of respiratory tract infections is mostly restricted to a few pathogens, and
there are limited data available on etiological agents causing RTIs in Sri Lanka and
no data on the involvement of other respiratory viruses in District Rathnapura. A total
of 24 nasopharyngeal swabs that were submitted to (from both adults and children
who presented with flu-like illness) Teaching Hospital Ratnapura between July and
October 2022 were analyzed using RespiFinder assay, which is based on the multiplex
ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) technology. Viral RNA was
extracted using the QIAamp® MinElute Virus Spin Kit according to the
manufacturer’s instructions. It followed SARS CoV-2 RT-PCR and RespiFinder
assay. Overall, none of the patients was confirmed positive for SARS-CoV-2.
Entero/Rhino (25.0%), Influenza B (8.3%), Respiratory Syncytial Virus type B
(4.1%), Chlamydophila pneumoniae (4.1%). One specimen showed molecular
evidence of coinfection with Rhino/Entero and influenza B. Remarkably, our study
showed for the first time the molecular evidence of Chlamydophila pneumoniae in Sri
Lankan setting. This study adds up to current scars data on RTIs in Sri Lanka.
