Human adenovirus among hospitalized children with respiratory tract infections in Beijing, China, 2017–2018

Abstract

Background Human adenoviruses (HAdVs) cause a wide range of diseases. However, the genotype diversity and epidemiological information relating to HAdVs among hospitalized children with respiratory tract infections (RTIs) is limited. Here, we describe the epidemiology and genotype distribution of HAdVs associated with RTIs in Beijing, China. Methods Nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPA) were collected from hospitalized children with RTIs from April 2017 to March 2018. HAdVs were detected by a TaqMan-based quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay, and the hexon gene was used for phylogenetic analysis. Epidemiological data were analyzed using statistical product and service solutions (SPSS) 21.0 software. Results HAdV was detected in 72 (5.64%) of the 1276 NPA specimens, with most (86.11%, 62/72) HAdV-positives cases detected among children < 6 years of age. HAdV-B3 (56.06%, 37/66) and HAdV-C2 (19.70%, 13/66) were the most frequent. Of the 72 HAdV-infected cases, 27 (37.50%) were co-infected with other respiratory viruses, most commonly parainfluenza virus (12.50%, 9/72) and rhinovirus (9.72%, 7/72). The log number of viral load ranged from 3.30 to 9.14 copies per mL of NPA, with no significant difference between the HAdV mono- and co-infection groups. The main clinical symptoms in the HAdV-infected patients were fever and cough, and 62 (86.11%, 62/72) were diagnosed with pneumonia. Additionally, HAdVs were detected throughout the year with a higher prevalence in summer. Conclusions HAdV prevalence is related to age and season. HAdV-B and HAdV-C circulated simultaneously among the hospitalized children with RTIs in Beijing, and HAdV-B type 3 and HAdV-C type 2 were the most frequent.

Molecular and clinical characterization of human adenovirus associated with acute respiratory tract infection in hospitalized children

“…HAdV is a common pathogen associated with ARTI in hospitalized children. Among our studied cohort, 3.71% of paediatric patients with ARTI exhibited HAdV positive, which is lower than the finding (5.64%) in Beijing [9] during the same period. Such discrepant HAdV detection rates were easy to be explained by different regions.…”

“…HAdV -2, -3 and -7 are the most prevalent species in China [15,16], but the type distribution of HAdV varies for different regions and periods of studies. HAdV-7 was the most prevalent types from 2007 to 2012 in Beijing [17], HAdV-3 dominated from 2017 to 2018 in Beijing [9] and from 2012 to 2013 in Guangzhou [8]. While throughout the present study period, HAdV-2 was the most prevalent type, followed by HAdV-3 and -7.…”

“…Such discrepant HAdV detection rates were easy to be explained by different regions. Previous studies from Beijing and Guangzhou [9,10] revealed that HAdV infections occurred throughout the year with the highest prevalence in the summer. However, a peak positive rate occurred during March-April in the present study, which is consistent with another study that has reported seasonal peak for HAdV infections in spring in Northern China [13].…”

“…Previous studies have reported the adenoviral epidemiology in Beijing and Guangzhou, China [9,10]. However, information on HAdV among hospitalized children with ARTI is limited in Hebei, China.…”

<p>Epidemiology of Human Adenoviruses: A 20-Year Retrospective Observational Study in Hospitalized Patients in Bern, Switzerland</p>

“…A study by Yao and colleagues concluded that HAdV prevalence may be related to age and season. 24 Our findings suggest that increased HAdV infection in Switzerland was related to age, but to a lesser extent to a particular season, as HAdV infections occurred throughout the year. Also when detected, HAdV was predominantly found among those aged ≤4 years.…”