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. 2025 Jul 1;25(1):824.
doi: 10.1186/s12879-025-11201-0.

Prevalence of common respiratory viruses in children: insights from post-pandemic surveillance

Constance Adu-Gyamfi  1   2 , Jesse Addo Asamoah  1   3 , James Opoku Frimpong  2   4 , Richard Larbi  4 , Richard Owusu Ansah  4 , Sherihane Naa Ayeley Aryeetey  1 , Richmond Gorman  1 , Henry Kyeremateng Acheampong  1 , Emmanuella Nyarko-Afriyie  1 , Manuella Hayford  1 , Henrietta Dede Tetteh  1 , Kwadwo Boampong  3 , Veronica Barnor  5   6 , Peter K Brenya  7 , Frederick Ayensu  7 , Nana Kwame Ayisi-Boateng  1   5   8 , Philip El-Duah  9 , Christian Drosten  9 , Richard Odame Phillips  1   5 , Augustina Angelina Sylverken  10   11 , Michael Owusu  12   13   14
Affiliations

Prevalence of common respiratory viruses in children: insights from post-pandemic surveillance

Constance Adu-Gyamfi et al. BMC Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected healthcare systems worldwide, impacting the occurrence and management of respiratory illnesses. This has also influenced respiratory infections' role in childhood mortality. Surveillance of common respiratory viruses in Ghana is limited, making it crucial to assess the prevalence of respiratory viral infections, particularly in children, in the post-pandemic era. This study provides data on the prevalence of respiratory viruses and the associated risk factors in symptomatic children aged 5 or younger in an urban paediatric hospital setting.

Methods: The study was a cross-sectional study with a convenience sampling method, conducted in four health facilities: Asokwa Children's Hospital, HopeXchange Medical Centre, University Health Services-KNUST, and Kumasi South Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana, between August 2022 and June 2023. Recruitment was not done in parallel in each hospital. Oropharyngeal swabs were collected from 303 children ≤ 5 years old and screened by RT-qPCR for common respiratory viruses.

Results: Out of the 303 patients enrolled in the study, 165 (54.4%) were male, and 122 (40.3%) were aged from 13 to 36 months. The median age of the patients was 19 months. The most common symptoms reported were cough (87.0%), runny nose (87.0%), and fever (72.0%). Respiratory viruses were detected in 100 (33.0%) of the samples, with 36 (12.0%) testing positive for Human metapneumovirus (HMPV), 27 (8.9%) for Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and 20 (6.6%) for Human Adenovirus (HAdV). In 8.0% of the cases, multiple viruses were detected, with HAdV being the most common (75.0%). Children under 6 months (AOR: 4.81, 95% CI: 1.20-24.60) had a higher risk of RSV detection compared to children aged 37 to 60 months. Furthermore, it was found that caregivers with tertiary education had higher odds of HMPV detection (AOR: 6.91, 95% CI: 1.71-47.3).

Conclusion: The detection of multiple viruses with a higher prevalence of HMPV and RSV in our study emphasises the need for a scaled-up and sustained surveillance of respiratory viruses in Ghana in the post-pandemic era. Such an establishment in respiratory virus surveillance systems in Ghana would help in the timely detection and education on viral seasonal patterns, which will inform public health responses.

Keywords: Children; Co-detection; Ghana; Respiratory viruses.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The protocols used for the study were reviewed and approved by the Ghana Health Service Ethics Review Committee (GHS-ERC: 007/05/22) and informed consent was obtained from the caregivers/guardians of all the participants by signature or thumb-print in accordance with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki [60]. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Abbreviations: AOR Adjusted odds ratio. ARIs: Acute Respiratory infections. CI: Confidence Interval. COVID-19: Coronavirus Disease 2019. Ct: Cycle threshold. GHS-ERC: Ghana Health Service Ethics Review Committee. HAdV: Human Adenovirus. HMPV: Human Metapneumovirus. HPIV: Human Parainfluenza virus. HRV: Human Rhinovirus. KCCR: Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine. NPIs: Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions. OPD: Outpatient department. PCR: Polymerase Chain Reaction. RSV: Respiratory Syncytial Virus. SARS-CoV-2: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2. URTI: Upper Respiratory Tract Infection.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Seasonal variation of the respiratory viruses detected among study participants
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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