parainfluenza virus
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Related to parainfluenza virus: adenovirus, enterovirus, croup, rhinovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, vaccine virus
parainfluenza virus
[par″ah-in″floo-en´zah]one of a group of viruses isolated from patients with upper respiratory tract disease of varying severity.
Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.
parainfluenza virus
Any of 4 Paramyxoviridiae serotypes of Paramyxovirus, which cause respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in children. Parainfluenzavirus (PV) is the most common identified agent in croup—causing up to 50% of croup and 10 to 15% of bronchiolitis, bronchitis, and pneumonias in toddlers—and a close second to RSV in RTIs requiring hospitalisation in infants.Clinical findings
Asymptomatic to life-threatening croup or bronchiolitis, but most commonly rhinorrhoea, cold-like symptoms.
Risk factors
Preschool children; by school age, most children have been exposed to PV; most adults have antibodies against PV.
Segen's Medical Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.