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. 2024 Mar 7:30:e942845.
doi: 10.12659/MSM.942845.

Changes in Spectrum of Respiratory Pathogen Infections and Disease Severity Among Children in Hohhot, China: Impact of COVID-19 Prevention Measures

Yan-Zi Gan  1 , Peng Yang  2 , Rui Liu  3 , Yan-Hai Wang  1 , Yu-Wei Hu  1 , Yang Yang  3
Affiliations

Changes in Spectrum of Respiratory Pathogen Infections and Disease Severity Among Children in Hohhot, China: Impact of COVID-19 Prevention Measures

Yan-Zi Gan et al. Med Sci Monit. .

Abstract

BACKGROUND This retrospective study evaluated the effects of specific COVID-19 preventive measures, including the use of medical masks, nucleic acid testing, and patient isolation, on respiratory infections, disease severity, and seasonal patterns among children in Hohhot, located in northern China. Understanding these alterations is pivotal in developing effective strategies to handle pediatric respiratory infections within the context of continuous public health initiatives. MATERIAL AND METHODS At the First Hospital of Hohhot, throat swabs were collected from 605 children with community-acquired respiratory between January 2022 and March 2023 for pathogen infection spectrum detection using microarray testing. RESULTS Among the patients, 56.03% were male, and their average age was 3.45 years. SARS-CoV-2 infections were highest between October 2022 and January 2023. Influenza A peaked in March 2023, and other pathogens such as respiratory syncytial virus and influenza B virus disappeared after December 2022. The proportion of mixed infections was 41.94% among SARS-CoV-2 patients, while other pathogens had mixed infection rates exceeding 57.14%. Before December 2022, the mean WBC count for Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae was 8.83×10⁹/L, CRP was 18.36 mg/L, and PCT was 1.11 ng/ml. After December 2022, these values decreased significantly. Coughing, difficulty breathing, running nose, and lower respiratory tract infection diagnoses decreased in December 2022, except for SARS-CoV-2 infections. CONCLUSIONS SARS-CoV-2 peaked around November 2022, influenza A peaked in March 2023, and other pathogens like respiratory syncytial virus and influenza B virus were greatly reduced after December 2022. Inflammatory markers and respiratory symptoms decreased after December 2022, except for SARS-CoV-2.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: None declared

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Monthly distribution of detected infections of respiratory pathogens in the First Hospital of Hohhot during the period January 2022 to March 2023. The “Others” category includes patients infected with MPV, GAS, E. coli, S. aureus, C. albicans, GBS, C. jejuni, Salmonella, K. pneumoniae, RV, and B. pertussis. There were fewer than 7 pathogens in infected patients.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Values of WBC, CRP, and PCT in respiratory pathogen-infected patients detected before or after December 2022.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mean proportion of symptoms in respiratory pathogen-infected patients detected before or after December 2022.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Mean proportion of clinical diagnoses in respiratory pathogen-infected patients detected before or after December 2022.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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