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Updated: Nov 2, 2025

Author Spotlight: Advancements in Multiplex Detection of Respiratory Viruses
Published on: November 10, 2023
Distribution of spreading viruses during COVID-19 pandemic: Effect of mitigation strategies
Elif Kıymet1, Elif Böncüoğlu1, Şahika Şahinkaya1
1Department of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, University of Health Sciences Dr. Behçet Uz Children's Hospital, İzmir, Turkey.
Background:
The study aimed to evaluate the distribution of circulating respiratory viral pathogens other than severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) during the first year of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic with especially focusing on the effects of the national-based mitigation strategies.
Methods:
This single-center study was conducted between March 11, 2020-March 11, 2021. All children who were tested by polymerase chain reaction on nasopharyngeal swabs for SARS-CoV-2 and other common respiratory viral pathogens were included in the study.
Results:
A total of 995 children with suspected COVID-19 admitted to the study center. Of these, 513 patients who were tested by polymerase chain reaction for both SARS-CoV-2 and common respiratory viral pathogens were included in the final analysis. Two hundred ninety-five patients were (57.5%) male. The median age was 3 years of age (27 days-17 years). A total of 321 viral pathogens identified in 310 (n: 310/513, 60.4%) patients, and 11 of them (n: 11/310, 3.5%) had co-detection with more than 1 virus. The most common detected virus was rhinovirus (n: 156/513, 30.4%), and SARS-CoV-2 (n: 122/513, 23.8%) followed by respiratory syncytial virus (n: 18/513, 3.5%). The influenza virus was detected in 2 patients (0.4%). A total of 193 patients were negative for both SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens.
Conclusions:
There is a decline in the frequency of all viral pathogens like SARS-CoV-2 in correlation with the national-based mitigation strategies against COVID-19 during the pandemic.
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