Adu-Gyamfi Constance, Asamoah Jesse Addo, Frimpong James Opoku, Larbi Richard, Ansah Richard Owusu, Aryeetey Sherihane Naa Ayeley, Gorman Richmond, Acheampong Henry Kyeremateng, Nyarko-Afriyie Emmanuella, Hayford Manuella, Tetteh Henrietta Dede, Boampong Kwadwo, Barnor Veronica, Brenya Peter K, Ayensu Frederick, Ayisi-Boateng Nana Kwame, El-Duah Philip, Drosten Christian, Phillips Richard Odame, Sylverken Augustina Angelina, Owusu Michael
Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR), Kumasi, Ghana.
Department of Clinical Microbiology, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana.
BMC Infect Dis. 2025 Jul 1;25(1):824. doi: 10.1186/s12879-025-11201-0.
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected healthcare systems worldwide, impacting the occurrence and management of respiratory illnesses. This has also influenced respiratory infections' role in childhood mortality. Surveillance of common respiratory viruses in Ghana is limited, making it crucial to assess the prevalence of respiratory viral infections, particularly in children, in the post-pandemic era. This study provides data on the prevalence of respiratory viruses and the associated risk factors in symptomatic children aged 5 or younger in an urban paediatric hospital setting.
The study was a cross-sectional study with a convenience sampling method, conducted in four health facilities: Asokwa Children's Hospital, HopeXchange Medical Centre, University Health Services-KNUST, and Kumasi South Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana, between August 2022 and June 2023. Recruitment was not done in parallel in each hospital. Oropharyngeal swabs were collected from 303 children ≤ 5 years old and screened by RT-qPCR for common respiratory viruses.
Out of the 303 patients enrolled in the study, 165 (54.4%) were male, and 122 (40.3%) were aged from 13 to 36 months. The median age of the patients was 19 months. The most common symptoms reported were cough (87.0%), runny nose (87.0%), and fever (72.0%). Respiratory viruses were detected in 100 (33.0%) of the samples, with 36 (12.0%) testing positive for Human metapneumovirus (HMPV), 27 (8.9%) for Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and 20 (6.6%) for Human Adenovirus (HAdV). In 8.0% of the cases, multiple viruses were detected, with HAdV being the most common (75.0%). Children under 6 months (AOR: 4.81, 95% CI: 1.20-24.60) had a higher risk of RSV detection compared to children aged 37 to 60 months. Furthermore, it was found that caregivers with tertiary education had higher odds of HMPV detection (AOR: 6.91, 95% CI: 1.71-47.3).
The detection of multiple viruses with a higher prevalence of HMPV and RSV in our study emphasises the need for a scaled-up and sustained surveillance of respiratory viruses in Ghana in the post-pandemic era. Such an establishment in respiratory virus surveillance systems in Ghana would help in the timely detection and education on viral seasonal patterns, which will inform public health responses.
新冠疫情对全球医疗系统产生了重大影响，影响了呼吸道疾病的发生和管理。这也影响了呼吸道感染在儿童死亡率中的作用。加纳对常见呼吸道病毒的监测有限，因此在疫情后时代评估呼吸道病毒感染的流行情况至关重要，尤其是在儿童中。本研究提供了关于一家城市儿科医院中5岁及以下有症状儿童呼吸道病毒流行情况及相关危险因素的数据。
本研究采用便利抽样法进行横断面研究，于2022年8月至2023年6月在加纳库马西的四个医疗机构开展，分别是阿索夸儿童医院、希望交换医疗中心、夸梅·恩克鲁玛科技大学大学健康服务中心和库马西南部医院。各医院并非同时进行招募。从303名5岁及以下儿童中采集咽拭子，采用逆转录定量聚合酶链反应（RT-qPCR）对常见呼吸道病毒进行筛查。
在纳入研究的303名患者中，165名（54.4%）为男性，122名（40.3%）年龄在13至36个月之间。患者的中位年龄为19个月。报告的最常见症状为咳嗽（87.0%）、流鼻涕（87.0%）和发热（72.0%）。100份（33.0%）样本中检测到呼吸道病毒，其中36份（12.0%）人偏肺病毒（HMPV）检测呈阳性，27份（8.9%）呼吸道合胞病毒（RSV）检测呈阳性，20份（6.6%）人腺病毒（HAdV）检测呈阳性。在8.0%的病例中检测到多种病毒，其中HAdV最为常见（75.0%）。与37至60个月大的儿童相比，6个月以下的儿童检测到RSV的风险更高（调整后比值比：4.81，95%置信区间：1.20 - 24.60）。此外，发现受过高等教育的看护人检测到HMPV的几率更高（调整后比值比：6.91，95%置信区间：1.71 - 47.3）。
本研究中检测到多种病毒，且HMPV和RSV的患病率较高，这凸显了在疫情后时代加纳扩大并持续监测呼吸道病毒的必要性。在加纳建立这样的呼吸道病毒监测系统将有助于及时发现并开展关于病毒季节性模式的教育，从而为公共卫生应对提供依据。
