Agyei George, El-Duah Philip, Gmanyami Jonathan Mawutor, Lambert Oscar, Fogang Brice Armel Nembot, Aryeetey Sherihane, Sylverken Augustina, Dumevi Rexford Mawunyo, Adu-Sarkodie Yaw, Phillips Richard Odame, Drosten Christian, Owusu Michael
Department of Clinical Microbiology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
German West-African Centre for Global Health and Pandemic Prevention, Kumasi, Ghana.
BMC Infect Dis. 2025 May 6;25(1):668. doi: 10.1186/s12879-025-11028-9.
Atypical respiratory viruses (ARVs) are a diverse group of pathogens that cause respiratory infections through less common mechanisms or in unique epidemiological patterns, unlike the typical viruses like respiratory syncytial virus, influenza and human rhinoviruses. They sometimes present as unusual respiratory illnesses in vulnerable populations with near-fatal outcomes. Several viruses are involved, such as Human metapneumovirus (HMPV), Human Bocavirus (HBoV), Enteroviruses (EVs), Parechovirus (PeV) and Influenza C virus (ICV). This review was done to shed light on ARVs and their possible role in respiratory illness or infections based on studies in Sub-Saharan Africa from 2013 to 2023.
We systematically reviewed atypical causes of respiratory virus infections in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines. We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar and Cochrane Library to include studies published from 2013 to 2023 with reports on ARV. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (ID: CRD42024611183).
The review covered 46 SSA countries, with five eligible for the systematic review. The search yielded 548 publications, with only six studies meeting the inclusion criteria. Studies included children and individuals of all age groups. The prevalence of ARVs detected in SSA was as follows: HMPV pooled prevalence was 1.52% (95% CI: 1.07-2.00), EVs pooled prevalence was 15.0% (95% CI: 14.1-15.9), HBoV prevalence was 0.4%, PeV was 20%, and ICV was 1.3% in individuals with respiratory tract infection(s).
Our findings suggest testing or diagnostics for ARV infections are very low in SSA. Therefore, surveillance of people suffering from respiratory tract infections, which is lacking, needs to be improved to monitor the prevalence of ARVs and the role they play in respiratory disease outcomes.
非典型呼吸道病毒（ARVs）是一类多样的病原体，它们通过不太常见的机制或独特的流行病学模式引起呼吸道感染，与呼吸道合胞病毒、流感病毒和人鼻病毒等典型病毒不同。它们有时在脆弱人群中表现为不寻常的呼吸道疾病，甚至会导致近乎致命的后果。涉及的病毒有多种，如人偏肺病毒（HMPV）、人博卡病毒（HBoV）、肠道病毒（EVs）、帕里病毒（PeV）和丙型流感病毒（ICV）。本综述旨在基于2013年至2023年在撒哈拉以南非洲地区的研究，阐明非典型呼吸道病毒及其在呼吸道疾病或感染中可能发挥的作用。
我们按照系统评价和Meta分析的首选报告项目（PRISMA）2020指南，对撒哈拉以南非洲地区（SSA）呼吸道病毒感染的非典型病因进行了系统评价。我们检索了PubMed、科学网、谷歌学术和考克兰图书馆，以纳入2013年至2023年发表的有关非典型呼吸道病毒的研究报告。该方案已在国际前瞻性系统评价注册库（PROSPERO）注册（编号：CRD42024611183）。
该综述涵盖了46个撒哈拉以南非洲国家，其中5个符合系统评价的条件。检索共得到548篇出版物，只有6项研究符合纳入标准。研究对象包括儿童和所有年龄段的个体。在撒哈拉以南非洲地区检测到的非典型呼吸道病毒的流行率如下：人偏肺病毒的合并流行率为1.52%（95%置信区间：1.07 - 2.00），肠道病毒的合并流行率为15.0%（95%置信区间：14.1 - 15.9），人博卡病毒的流行率为0.4%，帕里病毒为20%，丙型流感病毒在呼吸道感染患者中的流行率为1.3%。
我们的研究结果表明，在撒哈拉以南非洲地区，对非典型呼吸道病毒感染的检测或诊断率非常低。因此，目前缺乏的对呼吸道感染患者的监测需要改进，以监测非典型呼吸道病毒的流行情况及其在呼吸道疾病结局中所起的作用。
