Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Nov;88(11):1874-81.
doi: 10.1002/jmv.24544. Epub 2016 May 19.

Etiology, seasonality, and clinical characterization of viral respiratory infections among hospitalized children in Beirut, Lebanon

Mayda Finianos  1 , Randi Issa  1 , Martin D Curran  2 , Claude Afif  3 , Maryam Rajab  4 , Jihad Irani  3 , Noha Hakimeh  3 , Amal Naous  4 , Marie-Joelle Hajj  3 , Pierre Hajj  3 , Tamima El Jisr  5 , Mira El Chaar  1
Affiliations

Etiology, seasonality, and clinical characterization of viral respiratory infections among hospitalized children in Beirut, Lebanon

Mayda Finianos et al. J Med Virol. 2016 Nov.

Abstract

Acute respiratory tract viral infections occur worldwide and are one of the major global burdens of diseases in children. The aim of this study was to determine the viral etiology of respiratory infections in hospitalized children, to understand the viral seasonality in a major Lebanese hospital, and to correlate disease severity and the presence of virus. Over a 1-year period, nasal and throat swabs were collected from 236 pediatric patients, aged 16-year old or less and hospitalized for acute respiratory illness. Samples collected were tested for the presence of 17 respiratory viruses using multiplex real-time RT-PCR. Pathogens were identified in 165 children (70%) and were frequently observed during fall and winter seasons. Co-infection was found in 37% of positive samples. The most frequently detected pathogens were human Rhinovirus (hRV, 23%), Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV, 19%), human Bocavirus (hBov, 15%), human Metapneumovirus (hMPV, 10%), and human Adenovirus (hAdV, 10%). A total of 48% of children were diagnosed with bronchiolitis and 25% with pneumonia. While bronchiolitis was often caused by RSV single virus infection and hAdV/hBoV coinfection, pneumonia was significantly associated with hBoV and HP1V1 infections. No significant correlation was observed between a single viral etiology infection and a specific clinical symptom. This study provides relevant facts on the circulatory pattern of respiratory viruses in Lebanon and the importance of using PCR as a useful tool for virus detection. Early diagnosis at the initial time of hospitalization may reduce the spread of the viruses in pediatric units. J. Med. Virol. 88:1874-1881, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Keywords: Lebanon; epidemiology; hospitalized children; multiplex PCR; respiratory viruses.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Total number of collected and positive samples each month. Detection rates were highest in Fall and Winter season.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Prevalence of respiratory viruses detected in hospitalized children during a 1‐year period.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Monthly distribution of respiratory viruses detected in 1‐year period. The bars represent the total number of samples positive for the virus.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Aberle JH, Aberle SW, Pracher E, Hutter HP, Kundi M, Popow‐Kraupp T. 2005. Single versus dual respiratory virus infections in hospitalized infants: Impact on clinical course of disease and interferon‐gamma response. Pediatr Infect Dis J 24:605–610. - PubMed
    1. Asner SA, Science ME, Tran D, Smieja M, Merglen A, Mertz D. 2014. Clinical disease severity of respiratory viral co‐infection versus single viral infection: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. PLoS ONE 9:e99392. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bdour S. 2001. Respiratory syncytial virus subgroup A in hospitalized children in Zarqa, Jordan. Ann Tropl Paediatr 21:253–261. - PubMed
    1. Blessing K, Neske F, Herre U, Kreth HW, Weissbrich B. 2009. Prolonged detection of human bocavirus DNA in nasopharyngeal aspirates of children with respiratory tract disease. Pediatr Infect Dis J 28:1018–1019. - PubMed
    1. Clark TW, Medina MJ, Batham S, Curran MD, Parmar S, Nicholson KG. 2014. Adults hospitalised with acute respiratory illness rarely have detectable bacteria in the absence of COPD or pneumonia; viral infection predominates in a large prospective UK sample. J Infect 69:507–515. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms