Epidemiological characteristics of common respiratory pathogens in children
- PMID: 39009660
- PMCID: PMC11251276
- DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-65006-3
Epidemiological characteristics of common respiratory pathogens in children
Abstract
Children's respiratory tract infection is a common disease affecting children's health, our purpose is to describe the epidemiological characteristics of common pathogens of children's respiratory tract infection in central Shandong, China, and compare them with those in other parts of world, so as to summarize the rules of children's respiratory tract infection in central Shandong, and provide scientific basis for health departments to prevent and treat local children's respiratory tract infection. Sputum, tracheal aspirate, alveolar lavage fluid and other samples of 4804 children admitted to wards of Zibo Maternal and Child Health Hospital for treatment of respiratory tract infection from June 2019 to December 2022 were collected, and 12 common respiratory tract pathogens were detected by PCR capillary electrophoresis fragment analysis, two bacteria (Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae), two atypical pathogens (Mycoplasma Pneumoniae, Chlamydia Pneumoniae) and eight viruses (Human rhinovirus, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Influenza A Virus, Parainfluenza Virus, Human metapneumovirus, Human boca virus, Human coronavirus, Influenza B virus) were included, the positive detection rate of single pathogen, the proportion of each type of respiratory tract mixed infection and the positive detection rate of single pathogen in different ages and seasons were analyzed statistically. (1)Among 4804 children with respiratory tract infection, the total positive rate was 77.87% (3741/4804), the positive rate of single pathogen was 43.40% (1656/4804), Streptococcus pneumoniae, Rhinovirus and Respiratory syncytial virus were the highest, there were 2085 cases of mixed infection with two or more pathogens, the positive rate was 43.40%. (2) The positive rates of infection in infant group (0-1 years old), infant group (1-3 years old), preschool group and school age group (3 years old-) were roughly the same, the infection rates of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Respiratory syncytial virus and Parainfluenza virus in infant group, Rhinovirus in infant group, Influenza A virus, Chlamydia pneumoniae, Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae in school age group were higher than those in other groups, the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). (3) The positive detection rates of spring, summer, autumn and winter groups were 43.58%, 38.64%, 33.73% and 29.27%, respectively, the positive rates of Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae in spring group, Mycoplasma pneumoniae in summer group, Rhinovirus, Respiratory syncytial virus and Influenza A virus in autumn group, Chlamydia pneumoniae, Boca virus and Influenza B virus in winter group were higher than those in other seasons, and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). The pathogen detection rate of children varies with age and season, and the prevention and treatment of a certain respiratory pathogen infection must be combined with its raging season and age rule.
Keywords: Children respiratory tract infection; Multiple PCR detection of respiratory tract; Pathogens; Positive detection rates.
© 2024. The Author(s).
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare no competing interests.
Figures



Similar articles
-
Epidemiological and etiological characteristics of 1266 patients with severe acute respiratory infection in central China, 2018-2020: a retrospective survey.BMC Infect Dis. 2024 Apr 22;24(1):426. doi: 10.1186/s12879-024-09297-x. BMC Infect Dis. 2024. PMID: 38649799 Free PMC article.
-
[Analysis of epidemiological characteristics of respiratory pathogens in children with influenza-like illnesses in a children's hospital in Beijing from 2022 to 2023].Zhonghua Yu Fang Yi Xue Za Zhi. 2024 Jun 6;58(6):905-909. doi: 10.3760/cma.j.cn112150-20230829-00137. Zhonghua Yu Fang Yi Xue Za Zhi. 2024. PMID: 38955740 Chinese.
-
[Etiology of acute respiratory tract infection in hospitalized children in Suzhou from 2005 to 2011].Zhonghua Yu Fang Yi Xue Za Zhi. 2013 Jun;47(6):497-503. Zhonghua Yu Fang Yi Xue Za Zhi. 2013. PMID: 24113096 Chinese.
-
Global meta-analysis of short-term associations between ambient temperature and pathogen-specific respiratory infections, 2004 to 2023.Euro Surveill. 2025 Mar;30(11):2400375. doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2025.30.11.2400375. Euro Surveill. 2025. PMID: 40116032 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Emerging Methods in the Identification of Bacterial Respiratory Tract Pathogens.Recent Pat Biotechnol. 2025;19(3):198-209. doi: 10.2174/0118722083309510240625085931. Recent Pat Biotechnol. 2025. PMID: 38967072 Review.
Cited by
-
Glycyrrhetinic acid reduces lung inflammation caused by pneumococcal infection by reducing the toxicity of pneumolysin.Heliyon. 2024 Sep 29;10(19):e38611. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e38611. eCollection 2024 Oct 15. Heliyon. 2024. PMID: 39397991 Free PMC article.
-
Genetic characteristics analysis of influenza A(H1N1) virus in Jiaxing, China, in the postepidemic era.BMC Infect Dis. 2025 Jul 10;25(1):905. doi: 10.1186/s12879-025-11257-y. BMC Infect Dis. 2025. PMID: 40640732 Free PMC article.
-
Persistent microbial infections and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis - an insight into non-typeable Haemophilus influenza pathogenesis.Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2024 Dec 20;14:1479801. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1479801. eCollection 2024. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2024. PMID: 39760094 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Epidemiological and clinical profiles of respiratory syncytial virus infections in hospitalized children: a retrospective cohort study utilizing targeted next-generation sequencing.Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2025 Jun;44(6):1391-1403. doi: 10.1007/s10096-025-05112-w. Epub 2025 Mar 26. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2025. PMID: 40133679
-
Retrospective analysis of clinical characteristics and treatment differences between severe and non-severe neonatal types of pneumonia with RSV infection.Medicine (Baltimore). 2025 Jan 10;104(2):e41177. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000041177. Medicine (Baltimore). 2025. PMID: 39792726 Free PMC article.
References
-
- Shuying C, Fangyou Y. Technology and development trend of pathogen detection for respiratory tract infection. Chin. J. Clin. Oncol. 2019;15(10):894–899.
-
- Futang Z. Practical pediatrics. Chin. J. Clin. 2015;43(7):47.
-
- Xinfen Yu, Kou Yu, Yanyan Z, et al. Etiological characteristics of acute respiratory tract infection in children. Chin. J. Exp. Clin. Virol. 2018;32(2):160–165.
-
- He Chenglu Xu, Congqiong WY, et al. Early diagnosis value of IgM in acute lower respiratory tract infection in children. J. Kunming Med. Univ. 2014;35(11):129–132.
-
- Li HJ, Cui Y, Yang YNA, et al. Surveillance of nine viral pathogens of acute respiratory tract infection in children in Tongzhou district, Beijing from 2011 to 2018. Chin. J. Infect. Control. 2019;18(08):713–718.
MeSH terms
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources