Title Etiology of febrile respiratory infections in the general adult population in Singapore, 2007-2013.
Author Chen, Yihui; Mah, Marcus G; Low, Jenny G H; Ooi, Eng Eong; Su, Yvonne C F; Moorthy, Mahesh; Smith, Gavin J D; Linster, Martin
Journal Heliyon Publication Year/Month 2021-Feb
PMID 33665466 PMCID PMC7907478
Affiliation + expend 1.Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore 169857, Singapore.

Pathogens that cause upper respiratory infections are numerous and specific preventive and therapeutic strategies are scarce. In order to ascertain the etiological agents resulting in upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) in adults in Singapore, nasal swab samples were collected from 2057 patients presenting with fever at primary healthcare clinics in Singapore from December 2007 to February 2013. Samples were tested using the Luminex NxTAG Respiratory Pathogen Panel that includes 22 respiratory pathogen targets. Patient-reported symptoms and vital signs were recorded and full blood and differential counts taken. Pathogens were detected in the following order of frequency: influenza viruses, rhino-/enteroviruses, coronaviruses, parainfluenza viruses, pneumoviruses, adenovirus, bocavirus and C. pneumoniae. Fifteen virus species were detected as part of coinfections, in which rhinoviruses were the most commonly observed pathogen. Our results suggest that influenza viruses are the main etiological agents, but multiple other respiratory viruses contribute to the total burden of URTI in adults in Singapore.

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