Identifying respiratory viruses in nasal mucus from children.

Large amounts of respiratory viruses are shed in nasal secretions by children. Nasal mucus was compared with nasopharyngeal swabs as a source for respiratory virus testing. Multiplex reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction detected virus in nasal mucus specimens in 73% (11/15) of positive cases, demonstrating the potential utility of less invasive specimens when a highly sensitive method is used for respiratory virus detection.