The Epidemiology of Circulating Respiratory Pathogens during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Objective To survey the epidemiology of respiratory pathogens during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic using multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Methods Specimens were assayed using multiplex nested PCR. Materials Specimens were obtained from outpatients who presented with symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection and asymptomatic outpatients who had contact with patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection at Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University Hospital in Sendai, Japan, from November 1, 2020, to May 31, 2023. The analysis included multiple specimens collected from the same patients at different time-points. Data were collected from the electronic records after testing. Results This study included 8,335 patients (4,311 men) with a median age of 59 years old, and 11,741 total specimens were collected. At least 1 positive SARS-CoV-2 result was obtained for 1,710 (14.6%) specimens. Furthermore, 15 pathogens were identified in the positive specimens, and rhinovirus/enterovirus was detected more frequently than other viruses. We identified a larger number of SARS-CoV-2-positive specimens in patients ≥10 years old. In contrast, in patients 0-9 years old, we identified a larger number of specimens positive for rhinovirus/enterovirus than for other viruses. Conclusion In this study, we examined the epidemiology of circulating respiratory pathogens during the COVID-19 pandemic era.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; epidemiology; multiplex polymerase chain reaction assay; respiratory pathogens.

Figure 1.

Patient flow chart.

Figure 2.

Trends in the number of samples that tested positive for at least one pathogen. The numbers of specimens obtained are presented by month. The number of positive results obtained using multiplex PCR is shown in red, and the number of negative results is shown in blue.

Figure 3.

Trends in the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory pathogens. SARS-CoV-2: severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, RSV: respiratory syncytial virus

Figure 4.

Number of respiratory pathogens detected in patients <10 and ≥10 years old. The numbers of respiratory pathogens detected in samples from patients <10 and ≥10 years old are shown. The number of respiratory pathogens detected in patients 0-9 years old is shown in blue, and those detected in patients ≥10 years old is shown in red. SARS-CoV-2: severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, RSV: respiratory syncytial virus