Epidemiology of acute respiratory infections in children in Guangzhou: a three-year study
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Published on: June 4, 2017
Wen Kuan Liu1, Qian Liu1, De Hui Chen2
1State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Insights
This study identified common respiratory pathogens in children with acute respiratory infections in China. Respiratory syncytial virus and influenza A virus were most frequent, with seasonal variations and co-infections noted.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Infectious Diseases
- Virology
Background:
- Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) are a major global health concern with complex causes.
- Understanding respiratory pathogen characteristics in developing nations is crucial but limited.
- Childhood ARI etiology requires detailed investigation for effective public health strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the prevalence and patterns of 17 common respiratory pathogens in children with ARI in Guangzhou, China.
- To analyze the seasonality, co-infection rates, and age-specific prevalence of these pathogens.
- To provide data for vaccine development and control strategies against childhood respiratory infections.
Main Methods:
- Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect 17 common respiratory pathogens.
- Samples were collected from children (≤14 years old) diagnosed with ARI over a 3-year period.
- Pathogen detection rates, seasonality, co-infections, and age-related prevalence were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Pathogens were identified in 55.7% of 4242 children, with significant seasonal variations.
- Respiratory syncytial virus (32.5%) and influenza A virus (18.1%) were the most prevalent pathogens.
- Co-infections occurred in 21.3% of positive cases, and 10 pathogens showed significant age-related prevalence patterns.
Conclusions:
- This study provides a comprehensive overview of common respiratory pathogens in children with ARI in southern China.
- Findings highlight the importance of specific viruses like RSV and influenza, and the prevalence of co-infections.
- The data supports targeted vaccine research, control strategies, and epidemiological surveillance for childhood respiratory diseases.
Abstract:
Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) are some of the most common human diseases worldwide. However, they have a complex and diverse etiology, and the characteristics of the pathogens involved in respiratory infections in developing countries are not well understood. In this work, we analyzed the characteristics of 17 common respiratory pathogens in children (≤14 years old) with ARI in Guangzhou, southern China over a 3-year period using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Pathogens were identified in 2361/4242 (55.7%) patients, and the positivity rate varied seasonally. Ten of the 17 pathogens investigated showed positivity rates of more than 5%. The most frequently detected pathogens were respiratory syncytial virus (768/2361, 32.5%), influenza A virus (428/2361, 18.1%), enterovirus (138/2361, 13.3%), Mycoplasma pneumoniae (267/2361, 11.3%) and adenovirus (213/2361, 9.0%). Co-pathogens were common and found in 503 of 2361 (21.3%) positive samples. When ranked according to frequency of occurrence, the pattern of co-pathogens was similar to that of the primary pathogens, with the exception of human bocavirus, human coronavirus and human metapneumovirus. Significant differences were found in age prevalence in 10 of the 17 pathogens (p≤0.009): four basic patterns were observed, A: detection rates increased with age, B: detection rates declined with age, C: the detection rate showed distinct peaks or D: numbers of patients were too low to detect a trend or showed no significant difference among age groups (p>0.05). These data will be useful for planning vaccine research and control strategies and for studies predicting pathogen prevalence.
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