Abstract:
Objectives To determine aetiology of illness among
children and adults presenting during outbreak of severe
respiratory illness in Southern Province, Sri Lanka, in 2018.
Design Prospective, cross-sectional
study.
Setting 1600-bed,
public, tertiary care hospital in
Southern Province, Sri Lanka.
Participants 410 consecutive patients, including 371
children and 39 adults, who were admitted with suspected
viral pneumonia (passive surveillance) or who met case
definition for acute respiratory illness (active surveillance)
in May to June 2018.
Results We found that cocirculation of influenza A
(22.6% of cases), respiratory syncytial virus (27.8%) and
adenovirus (AdV) (30.7%; type B3) was responsible for the
outbreak. Mortality was noted in 4.5% of paediatric cases
identified during active surveillance. Virus type and viral
coinfection were not significantly associated with mortality.
Conclusions This is the first report of intense
cocirculation of multiple respiratory viruses as a cause
of an outbreak of severe acute respiratory illness in Sri
Lanka, and the first time that AdV has been documented
as a cause of a respiratory outbreak in the country. Our
results emphasise the need for continued vigilance in
surveying for known and emerging respiratory viruses in
the tropics.
