We report the identification of a novel polyomavirus present in respiratory secretions from human patients with symptoms of acute respiratory tract infection. The virus was initially detected in a nasopharyngeal aspirate from a 3-year-old child from Australia diagnosed with pneumonia. A random library was generated from nucleic acids extracted from the nasopharyngeal aspirate and analyzed by high throughput DNA sequencing. Multiple DNA fragments were cloned that possessed limited homology to known polyomaviruses. We subsequently sequenced the entire virus genome of 5,229 bp, henceforth referred to as WU virus, and found it to have genomic features characteristic of the family Polyomaviridae. The genome was predicted to encode small T antigen, large T antigen, and three capsid proteins: VP1, VP2, and VP3. Phylogenetic analysis clearly revealed that the WU virus was divergent from all known polyomaviruses. Screening of 2,135 patients with acute respiratory tract infections in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, and St. Louis, Missouri, United States, using WU virus–specific PCR primers resulted in the detection of 43 additional specimens that contained WU virus. The presence of multiple instances of the virus in two continents suggests that this virus is geographically widespread in the human population and raises the possibility that the WU virus may be a human pathogen.

We present the molecular characterisation and preliminary clinical impact of a newly identified HRV along with sequences representing additional new HRVs.

Recently identified human metapneumovirus and human coronavirus NL63 are important pathogens in community-based illness in children, particularly in those who attend child care. Picornaviruses were detected in half of the nose-throat swabs collected during acute respiratory illness in children but resulted in milder illnesses; influenza and adenovirus caused the highest-impact illnesses. The use of parent-collected specimens should be considered for additional community-based epidemiologic studies and vaccine trials.

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HRVs were proportionately under-represented among viral co-detections. For some period, HRVs may render the host less likely to be infected by other viruses.

Objective To measure the effectiveness of the quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine against cervical abnormalities four years after implementation of a nationally funded vaccination programme in Queensland, Australia.Design Case-control analysis of linked administrative health datasets.Setting Queensland, Australia.Participants Women eligible for free vaccination (aged 12-26 years in 2007) and attending for their first cervical smear test between April 2007 and March 2011. High grade cases were women with histologically confirmed high grade cervical abnormalities (n=1062) and "other cases" were women with any other abnormality at cytology or histology (n=10 887). Controls were women with normal cytology (n=96 404).Main outcome measures Exposure odds ratio (ratio of odds of antecedent vaccination (one, two, or three vaccine doses compared with no doses) among cases compared with controls), vaccine effectiveness ((1−adjusted odds ratio)×100), and number needed to vaccinate to prevent one cervical abnormality at first screening round. We stratified by four age groups adjusted for follow-up time, year of birth, and measures of socioeconomic status and remoteness. The primary analysis concerned women whose first ever smear test defined their status as a case or a control. ResultsThe adjusted odds ratio for exposure to three doses of HPV vaccine compared with no vaccine was 0.54 (95% confidence interval 0.43 to 0.67) for high grade cases and 0.66 (0.62 to 0.70) for other cases compared with controls with normal cytology, equating to vaccine effectiveness of 46% and 34%, respectively. The adjusted numbers needed to vaccinate were 125 (95% confidence interval 97 to 174) and 22 (19 to 25), respectively. The adjusted exposure odds ratios for two vaccine doses were 0.79 (95% confidence interval 0.64 to 0.98) for high grade cases and 0.79 (0.74 to 0.85) for other cases, equating to vaccine effectiveness of 21%. ConclusionThe quadrivalent HPV vaccine conferred statistically significant protection against cervical abnormalities in young women who had not started screening before the implementation of the vaccination programme in Queensland, Australia.

Nose-throat swab specimens, in combination with sensitive molecular testing, are a less invasive diagnostic respiratory specimen with adequate sensitivity for use in the clinic and hospital outpatient settings and large-scale community studies through parent collection. For children who present to a hospital in which an avian or pandemic strain of influenza virus is reasonably part of the differential diagnosis, nasopharyngeal aspirates or a similar collection technique (eg, nasal washes) should continue to be used.

HE DISEASE BURDEN OF SEAsonal influenza in the pediatric population is generally attributed to a combination of immunologic naivety, prolonged virus shedding, and enhanced transmission opportunity in child-care and educational institutions. 1 Consistent with this experience, initial reports of the introduction and indigenous transmission of 2009 influenza A(H1N1) infection in many countries have largely involved children, 2 often attending day or boarding schools. [3][4][5] Serosurveys have demonstrated little or no cross-reactivity of the pediatric sera sample to the new virus strain, under-Context In the ongoing influenza pandemic, a safe and effective vaccine against 2009 influenza A(H1N1) is needed for infants and children.Objective To assess the immunogenicity and safety of a 2009 influenza A(H1N1) vaccine in children.Design, Setting, and Participants Randomized, observer-blind, age-stratified, parallel group study assessing 2 doses of an inactivated, split-virus 2009 influenza A(H1N1) vaccine in 370 healthy infants and children aged 6 months to less than 9 years living in Australia.Intervention Intramuscular injection of 15 µg or 30 µg of hemagglutinin antigen dose of monovalent, unadjuvanted 2009 influenza A(H1N1) vaccine in a 2-dose regimen, administered 21 days apart.Main Outcome Measures Hemagglutination inhibition assay to estimate the proportion of participants with antibody titers of 1:40 or greater, seroconversion, or a significant antibody titer increase, and factor increase in geometric mean titer. Assessments of solicited adverse events during 7 days and unsolicited adverse events for 21 days after each vaccination. ResultsFollowing the first dose of vaccine, antibody titers of 1:40 or greater were observed in 161 of 174 infants and children in the 15-µg group (92.5%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 87.6%-95.6%) and in 168 of 172 infants and children in the 30-µg group (97.7%; 95% CI, 94.2%-99.1%). Corresponding seroconversion rates were 86.8% (95% CI, 80.9%-91.0%) and 94.2% (95% CI, 89.6%-96.8%), and factor increases in geometric mean titer were 13.6 (95% CI,). All participants demonstrated antibody titers of 1:40 or greater after the second vaccine dose. Immune responses were robust regardless of age, baseline serostatus, or seasonal influenza vaccination status. The majority of adverse events were mild to moderate in severity. ConclusionOne 15-µg dose of vaccine was immunogenic in infants and children starting at 6 months of age and vaccine-associated reactions were mild to moderate in severity. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00940108