| Title | Viral Co-Infections in Pediatric Patients Hospitalized with Lower Tract Acute Respiratory Infections. | ||
| Author | Cebey-Lopez, Miriam; Herberg, Jethro; Pardo-Seco, Jacobo; Gomez-Carballa, Alberto; Martinon-Torres, Nazareth; Salas, Antonio; Martinon-Sanchez, Jose Maria; Gormley, Stuart; Sumner, Edward; Fink, Colin; Martinon-Torres, Federico | ||
| Journal | PLoS One | Publication Year/Month | 2015 |
| PMID | 26332375 | PMCID | PMC4558027 |
| Affiliation + expend | 1.Grupo de Investigacion en Genetica, Vacunas, Infecciones y Pediatria (GENVIP), Hospital Clinico Universitario and Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC), Galicia, Spain; Translational Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases Section, Department of Pediatrics, Hospital Clinico Universitario de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain. | ||
BACKGROUND: Molecular techniques can often reveal a broader range of pathogens in respiratory infections. We aim to investigate the prevalence and age pattern of viral co-infection in children hospitalized with lower tract acute respiratory infection (LT-ARI), using molecular techniques. METHODS: A nested polymerase chain reaction approach was used to detect Influenza (A, B), metapneumovirus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), parainfluenza (1-4), rhinovirus, adenovirus (A-F), bocavirus and coronaviruses (NL63, 229E, OC43) in respiratory samples of children with acute respiratory infection prospectively admitted to any of the GENDRES network hospitals between 2011-2013. The results were corroborated in an independent cohort collected in the UK. RESULTS: A total of 204 and 97 nasopharyngeal samples were collected in the GENDRES and UK cohorts, respectively. In both cohorts, RSV was the most frequent pathogen (52.9% and 36.1% of the cohorts, respectively). Co-infection with multiple viruses was found in 92 samples (45.1%) and 29 samples (29.9%), respectively; this was most frequent in the 12-24 months age group. The most frequently observed co-infection patterns were RSV-Rhinovirus (23 patients, 11.3%, GENDRES cohort) and RSV-bocavirus / bocavirus-influenza (5 patients, 5.2%, UK cohort). CONCLUSION: The presence of more than one virus in pediatric patients admitted to hospital with LT-ARI is very frequent and seems to peak at 12-24 months of age. The clinical significance of these findings is unclear but should warrant further analysis.