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 Apr 23;100(16):e25498.
doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000025498.

Characteristics and forecasting of respiratory viral epidemics among children in west China

Yifei Duan  1   2 , Jinlan He  3 , Yali Cui  1   2 , Wensheng Li  1   2 , Yongmei Jiang  1   2
Affiliations

Characteristics and forecasting of respiratory viral epidemics among children in west China

Yifei Duan et al. Medicine (Baltimore). .

Abstract

We aimed to assess the respiratory virus characteristics and forecasts among young children with acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI) in west China.This retrospective study investigated the epidemic characteristics of respiratory viruses among 11,813 paediatric ARTI patient samples (mean age, 2.25 years) between March 2018 and March 2020.The ratio of boys to girls was 1.36. The 2 predominant viruses were influenza (Flu) A and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in both years, with Flu A accounting for 47.3% and 47.5% in the first and second years and RSV accounting for 32.7% and 24.7% of the positive samples in the first and second years, respectively. The Flu B positive rates were 10.9% and 13.1%, and those of the other 4 viruses were <7%. The most common virus was RSV in children below 5 years and Flu A in those between 5 and 10 years. Flu A and RSV demonstrated pronounced seasonality, and their infection rates increased from October. During the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, isolation measures led to a decline in the number of ARTI cases.This study provides surveillance data of the respiratory viruses in west China. It could guide medical staff in implementing necessary prevention and management strategies before future viral outbreaks.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Monthly activity patterns of the total number of respiratory viruses from March 3, 2018 to March 3, 2020.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Monthly activity patterns of the 7 common respiratory viruses in the first year. ADV = adenovirus, Flu A = influenza A; Flu B = influenza B; PIV l = parainfluenza virus 1; PIV 2 = parainfluenza virus 2; PIV 3 = parainfluenza virus 3; RSV = respiratory syncytial virus.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Monthly activity patterns of the 7 common respiratory viruses in the second year. ADV = adenovirus; Flu A = influenza A; Flu B = influenza B; PIV l = parainfluenza virus 1; PIV 2 = parainfluenza virus 2; PIV 3 = parainfluenza virus 3; RSV = respiratory syncytial virus.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The positive rates of the respiratory viruses and total number of samples in each month. ADV = adenovirus; Flu A = influenza A; Flu B = influenza B; PIV l = parainfluenza virus 1; PIV 2 = parainfluenza virus 2; PIV 3 = parainfluenza virus 3; RSV = respiratory syncytial virus.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Wang X, Li Y, O’Brien KL, et al. Global burden of respiratory infections associated with seasonal influenza in children under 5 years in 2018: a systematic review and modelling study. Lancet Global health 2020;8:e497–510. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Luo HJ, Huang XB, Zhong HL, et al. Epidemiological characteristics and phylogenic analysis of human respiratory syncytial virus in patients with respiratory infections during 2011-2016 in southern China. Int J Infect Dis 2020;90:05–17. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kong DC, Zheng YX, Jiang CY, et al. [Analysis of adenovirus infection in acute respiratory tract infection cases in Shanghai from 2015 to 2019]. Zhonghua Liu Xing Bing Xue Za Zhi 2020;41:733–7. - PubMed
    1. Ma Y, Liu K, Yin Y, et al. The phylodynamics of seasonal influenza A/H1N1pdm virus in China between 2009 and 2019. Front Microbiol 2020;11:735. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wen S, Yu M, Zheng G, et al. Changes in the etiology of viral lower respiratory tract infections in hospitalized children in Wenzhou, China: 2008-2017. J Med Virol 2020;92:982–7. - PubMed