Division of Laboratory Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Clin Respir J. 2024 Oct;18(10):e70011. doi: 10.1111/crj.70011.
Researches on the epidemiology of various respiratory pathogens at multiple testing points in the pediatric population are limited, and these are crucial for the prevention of respiratory tract infections in children.
We obtained 1788 upper respiratory tract swabs from children exhibiting symptoms of respiratory infection (notably fever with a body temperature exceeding 38.5°C) across five hospitals in Guangdong between November 2020 and June 2022. We used the multiplex probe amplification (MPA) PCR testing to identify 11 respiratory viruses and subsequently analyzed the prevalence characteristics of these pathogens among febrile children in hospitals.
The overall detection rate of the pathogens was 58.1% (1039/1788). Human rhinovirus (HRV) exhibited the highest detection rate at 19.0% (339/1788), succeeded by human parainfluenza virus (HPIV), human adenovirus (HAdV), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The positivity and coinfection rates were higher in children aged 5 years and below compared to those above 5 years. Moreover, a distinct pathogen spectrum was observed across different age groups. Hospitalized patients demonstrated a significantly higher positivity and coinfection rate compared to outpatients. During COVID-2019, RSV appeared a counter-seasonal trend.
Respiratory viral infections in children display distinct characteristics concerning age, hospitalization status, and seasonality. Children under the age of 5 and minor patients admitted to hospitals at least be tested for RSV, HRV, HPIV, and HAdV. The epidemiological patterns of RSV in the post-epidemic period require ongoing surveillance.
在儿科人群的多个检测点对各种呼吸道病原体的流行病学进行研究是有限的，这对于预防儿童呼吸道感染至关重要。
我们从 2020 年 11 月至 2022 年 6 月期间在广东的五家医院收集了 1788 例有呼吸道感染症状（尤其是体温超过 38.5°C 的发热）的儿童的上呼吸道拭子。我们使用多重探针扩增（MPA）PCR 检测来鉴定 11 种呼吸道病毒，并随后分析这些病原体在医院发热儿童中的流行特征。
病原体的总检出率为 58.1%（1039/1788）。人鼻病毒（HRV）的检出率最高，为 19.0%（339/1788），其次是人副流感病毒（HPIV）、人腺病毒（HAdV）和呼吸道合胞病毒（RSV）。5 岁及以下儿童的阳性率和合并感染率高于 5 岁以上儿童。此外，不同年龄组的病原体谱明显不同。住院患者的阳性率和合并感染率明显高于门诊患者。在 COVID-19 期间，RSV 出现了反季节性趋势。
儿童呼吸道病毒感染在年龄、住院状态和季节性方面具有不同的特征。5 岁以下儿童和至少住院的轻症患者至少应检测 RSV、HRV、HPIV 和 HAdV。流行后期 RSV 的流行病学模式需要持续监测。
