Objective: This study was performed with the aim to define the genotypes of RSV strains in pediatric patients with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs), and to evaluate their molecular correlations.

Method: Nasopharyngeal swab samples were obtained from 72 patients with LRTI, between December 2012 and May 2013, in the Pediatrics Department of Akdeniz University Hospital. Twenty- eight RSV-A isolates and one RSV-B isolate were determined by real-time PCR (RealStar RSV RT-PCR, Altona Diagnostics). The part of the G gene was sequenced for genotyping 20 RSV-A strains. Nucleotide sequences were analyzed with ClustalX program (version 2.1). The phylogenetic tree was constructed with “neighbor-joining” by the using the MEGA (version 6.06) software.

Results: The median age of the patients were 35 days (range: 8-6061). All RSV-A isolates were identified as genotype GA2. Eleven isolates were identical; six of them caused hospital-acquired and five community-acquired RSV infections. Six patients were considered to have nosocomial infections including 4 cases in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (premature), one in the Neonatal Clinics and one in the Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Clinics. Five of eleven identical isolates were identified in patients with community-acquired infections.

Conclusion: Nosocomial and community-acquired RSV infections in our hospital were caused by RSV A GA2 subtype. Identical strains were detected in community- acquired infections in the same region, and; these strains also caused nosocomial infections. Monitoring of RSV infections, detecting of genotype with molecular microbiological analysis and applied standard isolation precautions are important in clinics at increased risk for nosocomial infections.