Patterns of Human Respiratory Viruses and Lack of MERS-Coronavirus in Patients with Acute Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Southwestern Province of Saudi Arabia

We undertook enhanced surveillance of those presenting with respiratory symptoms at five healthcare centers by testing all symptomatic outpatients between November 2013 and January 2014 (winter time). Nasal swabs were collected from 182 patients and screened for MERS-CoV as well as other respiratory...

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Main Authors: Ahmed A. Abdulhaq, Vinod Kumar Basode, Anwar M. Hashem, Ahmed S. Alshrari, Nassrin A. Badroon, Ahmed M. Hassan, Tagreed L. Alsubhi, Yahia Solan, Saleh Ejeeli, Esam I. Azhar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2017-01-01
Series:Advances in Virology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/4247853
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author Ahmed A. Abdulhaq
Vinod Kumar Basode
Anwar M. Hashem
Ahmed S. Alshrari
Nassrin A. Badroon
Ahmed M. Hassan
Tagreed L. Alsubhi
Yahia Solan
Saleh Ejeeli
Esam I. Azhar
author_facet Ahmed A. Abdulhaq
Vinod Kumar Basode
Anwar M. Hashem
Ahmed S. Alshrari
Nassrin A. Badroon
Ahmed M. Hassan
Tagreed L. Alsubhi
Yahia Solan
Saleh Ejeeli
Esam I. Azhar
author_sort Ahmed A. Abdulhaq
collection DOAJ
description We undertook enhanced surveillance of those presenting with respiratory symptoms at five healthcare centers by testing all symptomatic outpatients between November 2013 and January 2014 (winter time). Nasal swabs were collected from 182 patients and screened for MERS-CoV as well as other respiratory viruses using RT-PCR and multiplex microarray. A total of 75 (41.2%) of these patients had positive viral infection. MERS-CoV was not detected in any of the samples. Human rhinovirus (hRV) was the most detected pathogen (40.9%) followed by non-MERS-CoV human coronaviruses (19.3%), influenza (Flu) viruses (15.9%), and human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) (13.6%). Viruses differed markedly depending on age in which hRV, Flu A, and hCoV-OC43 were more prevalent in adults and RSV, hCoV-HKU1, and hCoV-NL63 were mostly restricted to children under the age of 15. Moreover, coinfection was not uncommon in this study, in which 17.3% of the infected patients had dual infections due to several combinations of viruses. Dual infections decreased with age and completely disappeared in people older than 45 years. Our study confirms that MERS-CoV is not common in the southwestern region of Saudi Arabia and shows high diversity and prevalence of other common respiratory viruses. This study also highlights the importance and contribution of enhanced surveillance systems for better infection control.
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spelling doaj-art-dca1eb8bcfc2436ea7c3a98130de4e8d2025-08-20T03:23:55ZengWileyAdvances in Virology1687-86391687-86472017-01-01201710.1155/2017/42478534247853Patterns of Human Respiratory Viruses and Lack of MERS-Coronavirus in Patients with Acute Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Southwestern Province of Saudi ArabiaAhmed A. Abdulhaq0Vinod Kumar Basode1Anwar M. Hashem2Ahmed S. Alshrari3Nassrin A. Badroon4Ahmed M. Hassan5Tagreed L. Alsubhi6Yahia Solan7Saleh Ejeeli8Esam I. Azhar9Unit of Medical Microbiology, Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, College of Applied Medical Science, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi ArabiaUnit of Medical Microbiology, Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, College of Applied Medical Science, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi ArabiaSpecial Infectious Agents Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Basic Health Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Northern Border University, Arar, Saudi ArabiaSpecial Infectious Agents Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaSpecial Infectious Agents Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaSpecial Infectious Agents Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Public Health, Ministry of Health, Jazan, Saudi ArabiaUnit of Medical Microbiology, Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, College of Applied Medical Science, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi ArabiaSpecial Infectious Agents Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaWe undertook enhanced surveillance of those presenting with respiratory symptoms at five healthcare centers by testing all symptomatic outpatients between November 2013 and January 2014 (winter time). Nasal swabs were collected from 182 patients and screened for MERS-CoV as well as other respiratory viruses using RT-PCR and multiplex microarray. A total of 75 (41.2%) of these patients had positive viral infection. MERS-CoV was not detected in any of the samples. Human rhinovirus (hRV) was the most detected pathogen (40.9%) followed by non-MERS-CoV human coronaviruses (19.3%), influenza (Flu) viruses (15.9%), and human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) (13.6%). Viruses differed markedly depending on age in which hRV, Flu A, and hCoV-OC43 were more prevalent in adults and RSV, hCoV-HKU1, and hCoV-NL63 were mostly restricted to children under the age of 15. Moreover, coinfection was not uncommon in this study, in which 17.3% of the infected patients had dual infections due to several combinations of viruses. Dual infections decreased with age and completely disappeared in people older than 45 years. Our study confirms that MERS-CoV is not common in the southwestern region of Saudi Arabia and shows high diversity and prevalence of other common respiratory viruses. This study also highlights the importance and contribution of enhanced surveillance systems for better infection control.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/4247853
spellingShingle Ahmed A. Abdulhaq
Vinod Kumar Basode
Anwar M. Hashem
Ahmed S. Alshrari
Nassrin A. Badroon
Ahmed M. Hassan
Tagreed L. Alsubhi
Yahia Solan
Saleh Ejeeli
Esam I. Azhar
Patterns of Human Respiratory Viruses and Lack of MERS-Coronavirus in Patients with Acute Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Southwestern Province of Saudi Arabia
Advances in Virology
title Patterns of Human Respiratory Viruses and Lack of MERS-Coronavirus in Patients with Acute Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Southwestern Province of Saudi Arabia
title_full Patterns of Human Respiratory Viruses and Lack of MERS-Coronavirus in Patients with Acute Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Southwestern Province of Saudi Arabia
title_fullStr Patterns of Human Respiratory Viruses and Lack of MERS-Coronavirus in Patients with Acute Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Southwestern Province of Saudi Arabia
title_full_unstemmed Patterns of Human Respiratory Viruses and Lack of MERS-Coronavirus in Patients with Acute Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Southwestern Province of Saudi Arabia
title_short Patterns of Human Respiratory Viruses and Lack of MERS-Coronavirus in Patients with Acute Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Southwestern Province of Saudi Arabia
title_sort patterns of human respiratory viruses and lack of mers coronavirus in patients with acute upper respiratory tract infections in southwestern province of saudi arabia
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/4247853
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