Allergy Asthma Respir Dis.  2017 Nov;5(6):320-325. 10.4168/aard.2017.5.6.320.

Prevalence of respiratory virus infection with regard to age, sex, and seasonality factors: A single center experience against children hospitalized during the 10 years

• Lee SJ
• Lee SH
• Ha EK
• Sheen YH
• Sung MS
• Jung YH
• Lee KS
• Jee HM
• Han MY

• KMID: 2396672
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4168/aard.2017.5.6.320

Abstract

PURPOSE
It is well known that respiratory viral infection has epidemiological characteristics, including season. This study aimed to investigate the patterns of the prevalence of common respiratory viruses during a period of 10 years with regard to age, sex, and season in Korean children.
METHODS
From June 2006 to November 2016, we obtained 11,798 specimens from patients aged less than 18 years who were admitted with lower respiratory infections. Ten respiratory viruses were detected using multiplex reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.
RESULTS
Of 11,798 specimens, at least 1 virus was detected in 4,845 (41.1%). Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV, 18.9%) was the most common virus detected, followed by human rhinovirus (HRV, 14.8%), adenovirus (9.5%), and human bocavirus (HBoV, 7.4%). The detection rate of HRV was higher in male subjects (male 60.0% vs. female 40.0%, P=0.004), but the other viruses had no significant differences with regard to sex. The subjects who were positive for RSV test were youngest (median, 10.5 months; interquartile range, 3.0-25.0 months), followed by human coronavirus (median, 13.0 months), HRV (median, 14 months), and parainfluenza (median, 14 months). HBoV was most commonly detected in spring (29.3%), enterovirus in summer (25.8%), HRV in fall (22.6%), and RSV in October and winter (22.6%).
CONCLUSION
We found that the prevalence of respiratory viruses in Korean children during a period of 10 years was associated with age, sex, and season when the infection occurred. Further nationwide data is warranted to infer clinical implication of our results.

Keyword

Respiratory virus; Prevalence; Seasonality; Child

MeSH Terms

Adenoviridae
Child*
Coronavirus
Enterovirus
Female
Human bocavirus
Humans
Male
Paramyxoviridae Infections
Prevalence*
Respiratory Syncytial Viruses
Respiratory Tract Infections
Rhinovirus
Seasons*

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Distribution of age groups for each respiratory viruses. ADV, adenovirus; IFV A, influenza virus A; IFV B, influenza virus B; hMPV, human metapneumovirus; HRV, human rhinovirus; HCoV, human coronavirus; PIV, parainfluenza virus; RSV, respiratory syncytial virus; HBoV, human bocavirus; HEV, human enterovirus.

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