Acute Parotitis Associated With Parainfluenza 3 Virus Infection

Mumps virus represents the single most important etiological agent of acute epidemic parotitis. However, the isolation of coxsackieviruses type A, echoviruses, choriomeningitis virus, and parainfluenza 1 virus from a few individuals with a clinically similar illness, who often relate a prior episode of mumps, suggests that other viruses may cause acute parotitis, albeit infrequently.1,2In this report, we describe the recovery of parainfluenza 3 virus and detection of significant rises in homologous hemagglutination-inhibition antibody in two children with acute parotitis, one of whom previously had mumps. Materials and Methods Oropharyngeal swab specimens collected in chilled sterile veal infusion broth containing 0.5% bovine serum albumin were inoculated fresh into roller tube cultures of rhesus monkey kidney, HEp-2, and human fetal diploid fibroblast (WI-38) cells. The maintenance media and handling of cell cultures has been reported in detail.3 Microtiter assay of hemagglutination-inhibition antibody titers for parain-fluenza viruses types 1, 2,