Investigation of Respiratory Tract Pathogen Human Parechoviruses in Konya, Turkey

Abstract

Objective This study aims to better understand the epidemiological characteristics of parechoviruses and to determine the genotype distribution in Konya, Turkey. Methods In this study, nasal and throat swab samples taken from 1,110 children who were diagnosed with respiratory tract infection (bronchitis, pneumonia, asthmatic bronchitis, and other respiratory diseases) and applied to various pediatric polyclinics of Meram Medical Faculty Hospital, Necmettin Erbakan University between September 2017 and March 2019 were evaluated. Human parechovirus (HPeV) RNA was investigated by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in respiratory tract samples. Specific genotypes of the positive samples were identified by real-time PCR amplification of the VP1 region followed by sequence analysis. Results Of the total of 1,110 samples, 4 were positive for HPeV. Of these, HPeV1 was the most predominant genotype (n = 3), followed by HPeV4 (n = 1). HPeV infections were detected throughout the year in Konya, Turkey. Conclusion Although the number of positive samples for HPeV is low, these findings provide information about the genetic diversity and epidemiological of HPeV genotypes circulating in pediatric patients in Turkey. This is the first study to detect prevalence and genotyping of HPeV in respiratory tract infections in Turkey. HPeVs should be considered as causative agents especially in infants with sepsis, meningitis, or encephalitis, and routine testing panels for HPeV detection should be available in hospital laboratories. Further studies using molecular epidemiological methods will be beneficial for identifying genotypes of all HPeVs involved in the etiology and for better monitoring of these infections.