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
. 2021 Jan 6;18(1):10.
doi: 10.1186/s12985-020-01475-y.

Epidemiological characteristics of four common respiratory viral infections in children

Guohong Zhu  1 , Dan Xu  2 , Yuanyuan Zhang  1 , Tianlin Wang  1 , Lingyan Zhang  3 , Weizhong Gu  4 , Meiping Shen  5
Affiliations

Epidemiological characteristics of four common respiratory viral infections in children

Guohong Zhu et al. Virol J. .

Abstract

Background: Viruses are the main infectious agents of acute respiratory infections in children. We aim to describe the epidemiological characteristics of viral pathogens of acute respiratory tract infections in outpatient children.

Methods: From April 2018 to March 2019, the results of viral detection using oral pharyngeal swabs from 103,210 children with acute respiratory tract infection in the outpatient department of the Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, were retrospectively analyzed. Viral antigens, including adenovirus (ADV), influenza A (FLUA), influenza B (FLUB) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), were detected by the colloidal gold method.

Results: At least one virus was detected in 38,355 cases; the positivity rate was 37.2%. A total of 1910 cases of mixed infection with two or more viruses were detected, and the positivity rate of multiple infection was 1.9%. The ADV positivity rate was highest in the 3-6-year-old group (18.7%), the FLUA positivity rate was highest in the > 6-year-old group (21.6%), the FLUB positivity rate was highest in the > 6-year-old group (6.6%), and the RSV positivity rate was highest in the < 1-year-old group (10.6%). There was a significant difference in the positivity rate of viral infection among different age groups (χ2 = 1280.7, P < 0.001). The rate of positive viral infection was highest in winter (47.1%). The ADV infection rate was highest in spring (18.2%). The rates of FLUA and FLUB positivity were highest in winter (28.8% and 3.6%, respectively). The rate of RSV positivity was highest in autumn (17.4%). The rate of positive viral infection in different seasons was significantly different (χ2 = 6459.1, P < 0.001).

Conclusions: Viral infection rates in children differ for different ages and seasons. The positivity rate of ADV is highest in the preschool period and that of RSV is highest in infants; that of FLU increases with age. The total positive rate of viral infection in different seasons is highest in winter, as is the rate of FLU positivity.

Keywords: Adenovirus; Children; Influenza; Respiratory infection; Respiratory syncytial virus; Respiratory virus.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Positivity rates of four viruses in different age groups
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Positivity rates of four viruses in different seasons
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The positivity rate of four viruses in each month
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Williams BG, Gouws E, Boschi-Pinto C, Bryce J, Dye C. Estimates of world-wide distribution of child deaths from acute respiratory infections. Lancet Infect Dis. 2002;2(1):25–32. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(01)00170-0. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ramaekers K, Keyaerts E, Rector A, et al. Prevalence and seasonality of six respiratory viruses during five consecutive epidemic seasons in Belgium. J Clin Virol. 2017;94:72–78. doi: 10.1016/j.jcv.2017.07.011. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kurskaya O, Ryabichenko T, Leonova N, et al. Viral etiology of acute respiratory infections in hospitalized children in Novosibirsk City, Russia (2013–2017) PLoS ONE. 2018;13(9):e0200117. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0200117. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Choi E, Ha KS, Song DJ, Lee JH, Lee KC. Clinical and laboratory profiles of hospitalized children with acute respiratory virus infection. Korean J Pediatr. 2018;61(6):180–186. doi: 10.3345/kjp.2018.61.6.180. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lukšić I, Kearns PK, Scott F, Rudan I, Campbell H, Nair H. Viral etiology of hospitalized acute lower respiratory infections in children under 5 years of age—a systematic review and meta-analysis. Croat Med J. 2013;54(2):122–134. doi: 10.3325/cmj.2013.54.122. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources