الفهرس 
Detection and molecular characterization of human rhinoviruses in severe acute respiratory infections
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Abstract
Human Rhinoviruses (HRVs) are small, single-stranded, positive-sense RNA virions which belong to the genus Enterovirus and the family Picornaviridae. HRVs are classified into three species, HRV-A, -B and -C which includes 77, 30 and 51 types, respectively. Studies have linked HRV, particularly HRV-C, to severe lower respiratory tract illnesses (SARI), including pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Little is known about the circulating types of HRV and their role in respiratory illnesses in Africa and the Middle East. In this study, we aim to investigate the prevalence and the major species/types of HRV among SARI cases in Egypt. We analyzed 1,185 nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal swab specimens collected from SARI patients admitted to two fever hospitals in Cairo, in 2010. Each specimen was screened for the presence of HRV by real time polymerase chain reaction. HRV was detected in 182 (15.4%) of the cases. Subsequent sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the capsid viral proteins, VP4/VP2, of HRV positive specimens, revealed the presence of 91 (50%) HRV-A, 20 (11%) HRV-B and 56 (30.8%) HRV-C, which included 36, 7 and 29 intra-species types, respectively. A total of 15(8.2%) specimens were untypable. All typed specimens were genotypically related with known reference strains, except for two HRV-A specimens, which constituted a novel provisional type