Pediatr Infect Vaccine.  2023 Aug;30(2):62-72. 10.14776/piv.2023.30.e8.

Epidemiology and Characteristics of Pediatric Respiratory Virus Infection From 2017 to 2019 Focusing on Human Coronavirus: A Retrospective Study of a Single Center in Northwestern Gyeonggi-do

• Park H
• Cho KW
• Chung LY
• Kim JM
• Song JH
• Kim KN

• KMID: 2549037
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14776/piv.2023.30.e8

Abstract

Purpose
A change is expected in the pattern of respiratory viruses including human coronavirus (HCoV) after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Accordingly, identifying the distribution of respiratory viruses before the COVID-19 outbreak is necessary.
Methods
We retrospectively analyzed the results of samples of nasal swabs collected from children under aged ≤18 years who were hospitalized at Myongji Hospital, Gyeonggi-do due to acute respiratory infections from 2017 to 2019. Viruses were detected by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
Results
Out of 3,557 total patients, 3,686 viruses were detected with RT-PCR including coinfections. Of the 3,557 patients, 2,797 (78.6%) were confirmed as PCR-positive. Adenovirus and human rhinovirus (hRV) were detected throughout the year, and human enterovirus was most detected during summer. Respiratory syncytial virus, influenza virus, and HCoV were prevalent in winter. In patients with croup, parainfluenza virus was most frequently detected, followed by hRV and HCoV. The PCR positive rate in summer and winter differed significantly.
Conclusions
Respiratory virus patterns in northwestern Gyeonggi-do were not much different from previously reported data. The data reported herein regarding respiratory virus epidemiological information before the COVID-19 outbreak can be used for use in comparative studies of respiratory virus patterns after the COVID-19 outbreak.

Keyword

Epidemiology; Coronavirus; COVID-19; Polymerase chain reaction