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A pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection broke out all over the world; however, epidemiological data and viral shedding in pediatric patients are limited. We conducted a retrospective, multicenter study, and followed‐up with all children from the families with SARS‐CoV‐2 infected members in Zhejiang Province, China. All infections were confirmed by testing the SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA with real‐time reverse transcription PCR method, and epidemiological data between children and adults in the same families were compared. Effect of antiviral therapy was evaluated observationally and fecal‐viral excretion times among groups with different antiviral regiments were compared with Kaplan‐Meier plot. By 29 February 2020, 1298 cases from 883 families were confirmed with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and 314 of which were families with children. Incidence of infection in child close contacts was significantly lower than that in adult contacts (13.2% vs 21.2%). The mean age of 43 pediatric cases was 8.2 years and mean incubation period was 9.1 days. Forty (93.0%) were family clustering. Thirty‐three children had coronavirus disease 2019 (20 pneumonia) with mild symptoms and 10 were asymptomatic. Fecal SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA detection was positive in 91.4% (32/35) cases and some children had viral excretion time over 70 days. Viral clearance time was not different among the groups treated with different antiviral regiments. No subsequent infection was observed in family contacts of fecal‐viral‐excreting children. Children have lower susceptibility of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, longer incubation, and fecal‐viral excretion time. Positive results of fecal SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA detection were not used as indication for hospitalization or quarantine. Highlights: Children had lower susceptibility for SARS‐CoV‐2 infection than adults.Children had longer incubation period and fecal viral excretion time after infected by SARS‐CoV‐2.Viral clearance time was not different among the groups treated with different antiviral regiments.Children had milder clinical symptoms, better clinical outcome, and more common fecal viral excretion.Positive results of fecal SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA detection are not used as indication for hospitalization or quarantine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Longquan City, Zhejiang province, China, has been seriously affected by hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) since the first cases were registered in 1974. To understand the epidemiology and emergence of HFRS in Longquan, which may be indicative of large parts of rural China, we studied long-term incidence patterns and performed a molecular epidemiological investigation of the causative hantaviruses in human and rodent populations. Method/Principal Findings: During 1974–2011, 1866 cases of HFRS were recorded in Longquan, including 20 deaths. In 2011, the incidence of HFRS remained high, with 19.61 cases/100,000 population, despite the onset of vaccination in 1997. During 1974–1998, HFRS cases in Longquan occurred mainly in winter, while in the past decade the peak of HFRS has shifted to the spring. Notably, the concurrent prevalence of rodent-borne hantaviruses in the region was also high. Phylogenetic analyses of viral sequences recovered from rodents in Longquan revealed the presence of novel genetic variants of Gou virus (GOUV) in Rattus sp. rats and Hantaan virus (HTNV) in the stripe field mice, respectively. Strikingly, viral sequences sampled from infected humans were very closely related to those from rodents. Conclusions/Significance: HFRS represents an important public health problem in Longquan even after years of preventive measures. Our data suggest that continual spillover of the novel genetic variant of GOUV and the new genetic lineage of HTNV are responsible for the high prevalence of HFRS in humans. In addition, this is the first report of GOUV associated with human HFRS cases, and our data suggest that GOUV is now the major cause of HFRS in this region. Author Summary: Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is a major public health problem in China despite human vaccination. We investigated the epidemiology and emergence of HFRS in Longquan (Zhejiang Province), a rural area with a high incidence of HFRS. During 1974–2011, a total of 1866 cases of HFRS were recorded in Longquan, including 20 deaths. Strikingly, phylogenetic analyses of viral sequences sampled from local rodents in Longquan revealed the presence of novel variants of Gou virus (GOUV) in Rattus sp. rats and Hantaan virus (HTNV) in the stripe field mice, respectively. Moreover, viral sequences sampled from infected humans in Longquan were very closely related to those from rodents. Overall, these data indicate that there is a continual spillover GOUV and HTNV from rodents to humans in Longquan, and this might be responsible for the high prevalence of HFRS. As well as highlighting the importance of the human-animal interface, these data also suggest that GOUV is now the major cause of HFRS in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Recently, many novel hantavirus species carried by insectivore had been found. In order to know whether the insectivore-associated hantaviruses exist in China, Asian house shrew (Suncus murinus) were analyzed for the presence of hantaviruses. 362 Asian house shrews were captured in Wenzhou of Zhejiang province. Hantavirus-specific RNA was detected by RT-PCR in lung tissue samples of six shrews. The complete hantavirus S and M segment sequences and also partial L segment sequences were successfully recovered. Pairwise comparison of the nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences showed that the newly discovered virus strains are most closely related to Thottapalayam virus (TPMV) isolated from S. murinus in India, with 82.5–84.7% sequence identity at the nucleotide level and 95.0–98.2% at the amino acid level. Corresponding sequences of Imjin virus (MJNV) were more distant and other rodent- and insectivore-associated hantaviruses appeared even less related. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the new variants formed a distinct lineage within TPMV. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]