Seasonal patterns and prevalence of respiratory pathogens in children with acute respiratory infections in Wuhan, China
Introduction: Acute respiratory infection (ARI) is the major cause of disease and death in children. This study aimed to analyze the prevalence of common pathogens causing ARI in children aged 6 years or younger in Wuhan and the impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the dete...
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The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Journal of Infection in Developing Countries |
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| Online Access: | https://www.jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/19373 |
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| author | Zegang Wu Chenglin Ye Guolei Wang Jun’e Ma Li Yuan Xuan Xiao Chengliang Zhu |
| author_facet | Zegang Wu Chenglin Ye Guolei Wang Jun’e Ma Li Yuan Xuan Xiao Chengliang Zhu |
| author_sort | Zegang Wu |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Introduction: Acute respiratory infection (ARI) is the major cause of disease and death in children. This study aimed to analyze the prevalence of common pathogens causing ARI in children aged 6 years or younger in Wuhan and the impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the detection rate of these pathogens.
Methodology: Between March 2019 and January 2023, throat swab specimens were collected from 12,743 hospitalized children with ARI symptoms. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) capillary electrophoresis fragment analysis was performed to detect nucleic acids of 12 respiratory pathogens. Then, we analyzed the seasonal epidemic and mixed infection patterns of various pathogens and assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the detection rate of these pathogens.
Results: Of the 12,743 samples collected, 6,200 cases (48.65%) were positive for at least one pathogen. Human rhinoviruses (HRV) had the highest detection rate (2,475 cases, 19.42%). HRV was prevalent mainly in spring and autumn. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was mainly popular in fall and winter. The detection rates of respiratory pathogens were significantly lower than average during the COVID-19 pandemic (p < 0.01). Children aged 1-3 years were found to be more susceptible to ARI. Among the positive cases, 405 cases (3.18%) had co-infection with two or more pathogens.
Conclusions: This study presents important findings on the epidemic seasonality and mixed infection patterns of common respiratory pathogens in children aged 6 years or younger with ARI in Wuhan and found that the COVID-19 pandemic had altered the epidemiology of ARI in this population.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-cf72edb4e56c4a9c80560840577375c5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1972-2680 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Infection in Developing Countries |
| spelling | doaj-art-cf72edb4e56c4a9c80560840577375c52025-08-20T03:29:18ZengThe Journal of Infection in Developing CountriesJournal of Infection in Developing Countries1972-26802025-06-01190610.3855/jidc.19373Seasonal patterns and prevalence of respiratory pathogens in children with acute respiratory infections in Wuhan, ChinaZegang Wu0Chenglin Ye1Guolei Wang2Jun’e Ma3Li Yuan4Xuan Xiao5Chengliang Zhu6Department of Clinical Laboratory, Institute of Translational Medicine, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, PR ChinaDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, Institute of Translational Medicine, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, PR ChinaDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, Institute of Translational Medicine, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, PR ChinaDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, Institute of Translational Medicine, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, PR ChinaDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, PR ChinaDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, Institute of Translational Medicine, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, PR ChinaDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, Institute of Translational Medicine, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, PR China Introduction: Acute respiratory infection (ARI) is the major cause of disease and death in children. This study aimed to analyze the prevalence of common pathogens causing ARI in children aged 6 years or younger in Wuhan and the impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the detection rate of these pathogens. Methodology: Between March 2019 and January 2023, throat swab specimens were collected from 12,743 hospitalized children with ARI symptoms. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) capillary electrophoresis fragment analysis was performed to detect nucleic acids of 12 respiratory pathogens. Then, we analyzed the seasonal epidemic and mixed infection patterns of various pathogens and assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the detection rate of these pathogens. Results: Of the 12,743 samples collected, 6,200 cases (48.65%) were positive for at least one pathogen. Human rhinoviruses (HRV) had the highest detection rate (2,475 cases, 19.42%). HRV was prevalent mainly in spring and autumn. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was mainly popular in fall and winter. The detection rates of respiratory pathogens were significantly lower than average during the COVID-19 pandemic (p < 0.01). Children aged 1-3 years were found to be more susceptible to ARI. Among the positive cases, 405 cases (3.18%) had co-infection with two or more pathogens. Conclusions: This study presents important findings on the epidemic seasonality and mixed infection patterns of common respiratory pathogens in children aged 6 years or younger with ARI in Wuhan and found that the COVID-19 pandemic had altered the epidemiology of ARI in this population. https://www.jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/19373Prevalenceacute respiratory infectionschildrenco-infectionpathogens |
| spellingShingle | Zegang Wu Chenglin Ye Guolei Wang Jun’e Ma Li Yuan Xuan Xiao Chengliang Zhu Seasonal patterns and prevalence of respiratory pathogens in children with acute respiratory infections in Wuhan, China Journal of Infection in Developing Countries Prevalence acute respiratory infections children co-infection pathogens |
| title | Seasonal patterns and prevalence of respiratory pathogens in children with acute respiratory infections in Wuhan, China |
| title_full | Seasonal patterns and prevalence of respiratory pathogens in children with acute respiratory infections in Wuhan, China |
| title_fullStr | Seasonal patterns and prevalence of respiratory pathogens in children with acute respiratory infections in Wuhan, China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Seasonal patterns and prevalence of respiratory pathogens in children with acute respiratory infections in Wuhan, China |
| title_short | Seasonal patterns and prevalence of respiratory pathogens in children with acute respiratory infections in Wuhan, China |
| title_sort | seasonal patterns and prevalence of respiratory pathogens in children with acute respiratory infections in wuhan china |
| topic | Prevalence acute respiratory infections children co-infection pathogens |
| url | https://www.jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/19373 |
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