Differential Pattern of Symptom Correlation With Acute Respiratory Infections in Korea

Area of Science:

• Epidemiology
• Virology
• Public Health

Background:

• Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) present significant global health challenges, impacting healthcare systems and causing substantial illness and death.
• Effective syndromic surveillance requires identifying specific signs and symptoms correlated with ARIs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify distinctive signs or symptoms correlated with ARIs for improved syndromic surveillance.
• To analyze symptom-virus correlations in different pediatric age groups.

Main Methods:

• Utilized national Korean databases for data analysis.
• Examined correlations between various symptoms and reported ARI viruses.
• Stratified analysis by age groups: under 5 years and over 5 years.

Main Results:

• In children under 5, respiratory symptoms strongly correlated with human adenovirus, human respiratory syncytial virus, and human rhinovirus.
• Fever was a key indicator of respiratory viruses in children under 5.
• Children over 5 showed diverse patterns, with smell and taste disturbances noted.

Conclusions:

• Symptom-ARI correlations vary significantly across different age groups.
• Findings support the enhancement of syndromic surveillance systems for ARIs.
• Age-specific symptom identification can improve early detection and response to respiratory viruses.