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. 2022 Dec 15;11(12):1542.
doi: 10.3390/pathogens11121542.

Changes in the Epidemiology of Respiratory Pathogens in Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Asmae Lamrani Hanchi  1 , Morad Guennouni  2 , Toufik Ben Houmich  1 , Mohamed Echchakery  2 , Ghizlane Draiss  3 , Noureddine Rada  3 , Said Younous  4 , Mohamed Bouskraoui  3 , Nabila Soraa  1
Affiliations

Changes in the Epidemiology of Respiratory Pathogens in Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Asmae Lamrani Hanchi et al. Pathogens. .

Abstract

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant decrease in non-COVID-19 respiratory illnesses were observed, suggesting that the implementation of measures against COVID-19 affected the transmission of other respiratory pathogens. The aim of this study was to highlight the changes in the epidemiology of respiratory pathogens in children during the COVID-19 pandemic. All children with Severe Acute respiratory illness admitted to the pediatric departments between January 2018 and December 2021 with negative COVID-19 PCR, were enrolled. The detection of respiratory pathogens was made by the Film Array Respiratory Panel. A total of 902 respiratory specimens were tested. A significantly lower positivity rate during the COVID-19 period was found (p = 0.006), especially in infants under 6 months (p = 0.008). There was a substantial absence of detection of Respiratory Syncytial Virus and Influenza A during the winter season following the outbreak of the pandemic (p < 0.05; p = 0.002 respectively). An inter-seasonal resurgence of Respiratory Syncytial Virus was noted. Human Rhinovirus was detected throughout the year, and more prevalent in winter during COVID-19 (p = 0.0002). These changes could be explained by the impact of the implementation of preventive measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic on the transmission of respiratory pathogens in children.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARI; children; film array® respiratory panel; mPCR; respiratory pathogens.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Monthly distribution of RSV (a), INFLUENZA A (b), HRV (c), Bp (d).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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