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Updated: Sep 6, 2025
Remote Laboratory Management: Respiratory Virus Diagnostics
Published on: April 6, 2019
The Clinical and Genomic Epidemiology of Rhinovirus in Homeless Shelters-King County, Washington
Eric J Chow1, Amanda M Casto1,2, Pavitra Roychoudhury2,3
1Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Background:
Rhinovirus (RV) is a common cause of respiratory illness in all people, including those experiencing homelessness. RV epidemiology in homeless shelters is unknown.
Methods:
We analyzed data from a cross-sectional homeless shelter study in King County, Washington, October 2019-May 2021. Shelter residents or guardians aged ≥3 months reporting acute respiratory illness completed questionnaires and submitted nasal swabs. After 1 April 2020, enrollment expanded to residents and staff regardless of symptoms. Samples were tested by multiplex RT-PCR for respiratory viruses. A subset of RV-positive samples was sequenced.
Results:
There were 1066 RV-positive samples with RV present every month of the study period. RV was the most common virus before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic (43% and 77% of virus-positive samples, respectively). Participants from family shelters had the highest prevalence of RV. Among 131 sequenced samples, 33 RV serotypes were identified with each serotype detected for ≤4 months.
Conclusions:
RV infections persisted through community mitigation measures and were most prevalent in shelters housing families. Sequencing showed a diversity of circulating RV serotypes, each detected over short periods of time. Community-based surveillance in congregate settings is important to characterize respiratory viral infections during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Clinical Trials Registration:
NCT04141917.
