Background Acute respiratory infection (ARI) is one of the most common infectious diseases in infants and young children globally.This study aimed to determine the virus profile in children with ARI presenting with different severities.Methods Clinical specimens collected from children with ARI in Beijing from September 2010 to March 2011 were investigated for 18 respiratory viruses using an xTAG Respiratory Viral Panel Fast (RVP Fast) assay.The Pearson chisquare analysis was used to identify statistical significance.Results Of 270 cases from three groups of ARI patients,including Out-patients,In-patients and patients in the intensive care unit (ICU),viruses were detected in 176 (65.2%) specimens with the RVP Fast assay.The viral detection rate from the Out-patients group (50.0%) was significantly lower than that from the In-patients (71.1%) and ICU-patients (74.4%) groups.The virus distribution was different between the Out-patients group and the other hospitalized groups,while the virus detection rate and distribution characteristics were similar between the In-patients and ICU-patients groups.The coinfection rates of the Out-patients group,the In-patients group,and the ICU-patients group were 15.6%,50.0% and 35.8%,respectively.In addition to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and adenovirus (ADV),human rhinovirus (HRV) was frequently detected from children with serious illnesses,followed by human metapneumovirus (hMPV),human bocavirus (HBoV) and coronaviruses.Parainfluenza virus 3 (PIV3) was detected in children with lower respiratory illness,but rarely from those with serious illnesses in the ICU-patient group.Conclusion In addition to so-called common respiratory viruses,virus detection in children with ARI should include those thoucht to be uncommon respiratory viruses,especially when there are severe ARI-related clinical illnesses.
Zhu Runan Song Qinwei Qian Yuan Zhao Linqing Deng Jie Wang Fang Sun Yu
Background Human bocavirus (HBoV) is a newly identified human parvovirus that was originally detected in the respiratory secretions of children with respiratory infections. This study aimed to learn about the importance of HBoV infections by revealing the prevalence of serum antibodies against HBoV in Beijing population. Methods Two batches of serum specimens collected in different periods were tested by Western blotting for specific IgG against HBoV using recombinant VP2 as antigen. Results Out of 677 serum specimens collected during April 1996 to March 1997, 400 (59.1%) were positive and antibody positive rate for another batch of 141 serum specimens collected in August, 2005 from adults aged from 20 years to over 60 years was 78.7% (111/141). Comparison of the sero-prevalence profiles for serum specimens collected during 1996-1997 to those collected in 2005 indicated that the antibody positive rate for specimens collected in 2005 was higher than that of the corresponding age groups collected during 1996-1997. Conclusions The data suggest that HBoV has been circulating in Beijing population for at least over 10 years, and most of children had been exposed to HBoV by age of 7 years. Higher HBoV antibody positive rate shown in the serum specimens collected in 2005 suggested that infections by HBoV have been increased in Beijing population in recent years.
ZHAO Lin-qingQIAN YuanZHU Ru-nanDENG JieWANG FengDONG Hui-jinSUN YuLI Yan