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. 2023 Aug 26;15(9):1820.
doi: 10.3390/v15091820.

The Seasonality of Respiratory Viruses in a Hong Kong Hospital, 2014-2023

Wai-Sing Chan  1 , Siu-Kei Yau  1 , Man-Yan To  1 , Sau-Man Leung  1 , Kan-Pui Wong  1 , Ka-Chun Lai  1 , Ching-Yan Wong  1 , Chin-Pang Leung  1 , Chun-Hang Au  1 , Thomas Shek-Kong Wan  1 , Edmond Shiu-Kwan Ma  1 , Bone Siu-Fai Tang  1
Affiliations

The Seasonality of Respiratory Viruses in a Hong Kong Hospital, 2014-2023

Wai-Sing Chan et al. Viruses. .

Abstract

We reviewed the multiplex PCR results of 20,127 respiratory specimens tested in a hospital setting from January 2014 to April 2023. The seasonal oscillation patterns of 17 respiratory viruses were studied. Compared with 2014-2019, a prominent drop in PCR positivity (from 64.46-69.21% to 17.29-29.89%, p < 0.001) and virus diversity was observed during the COVID-19 pandemic, with predominance of rhinovirus/enterovirus, sporadic spikes of parainfluenza viruses 3 and 4, respiratory syncytial virus and SARS-CoV-2, and rare detection of influenza viruses, metapneumovirus, adenovirus and coronaviruses. The suppressed viruses appeared to regain activity from the fourth quarter of 2022 when pandemic interventions had been gradually relaxed in Hong Kong. With the co-circulation of SARS-CoV-2 and seasonal respiratory viruses, surveillance of their activity and an in-depth understanding of the clinical outcomes will provide valuable insights for improved public health measures and reducing disease burden.

Keywords: COVID-19; PCR; SARS-CoV-2; influenza; prevalence; respiratory virus; seasonality.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Seasonality of respiratory viruses from 2014 to 2023. The 100% stacked bar chart on the left shows the relative proportion of individual viruses (or virus groups). The composite bar chart on the right reveals monthly number of respiratory specimens tested and PCR positivity, classified by single-virus and co-detection. A subset of time points of the COVID-19 pandemic and the countermeasures in Hong Kong are marked by schematic diagrams. ADV, adenovirus; CoV, coronaviruses 229E, HKU1, NL63, and OC43; Flu A, influenza A virus subtypes H1, H1pdm09, and H3; MPV, metapneumovirus; MERS-CoV, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus; PIV1–4, parainfluenza viruses 1–4; Q, quarter; RSV, respiratory syncytial virus; RV/EV, rhinovirus/enterovirus; SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Monthly prevalence of individual viruses in percentage of specimens. The 10-year mean of each virus (group) is marked by dotted lines.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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