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Respiratory Viral Infection Patterns in Hospitalised Children Before and After COVID-19 in Hong Kong

Authors :
Jason Chun Sang Pun
Kin Pong Tao
Stacy Lok Sze Yam
Kam Lun Hon
Paul Kay Sheung Chan
Albert Martin Li
Renee Wan Yi Chan
Source :
Viruses, Vol 16, Iss 11, p 1786 (2024)
Publication Year :
2024
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2024.

Abstract

The study highlights the significant changes in respiratory virus epidemiology following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. Method: In this single-centre retrospective study, the virological readouts of adenovirus (AdV), influenza virus A (IAV), influenza virus B (IBV), parainfluenza viruses (PIV) 1, 2, 3, 4, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and coupled enterovirus and rhinovirus (EV/RV) were extracted from the respiratory specimens of paediatric patients in Hong Kong from January 2015 to February 2024. The subjects were stratified into five age groups. Results: The study included 18,737 and 6001 respiratory specimens in the pre-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 mask mandate period, respectively. The mean age of hospitalised patients increased from 3.49 y ± 0.03 y to 4.37 y ± 0.05 y after the COVID-19 lockdown. The rates of single-virus infection and co-infection were significantly higher in the post-COVID-19 mask mandate period. The odds ratio for AdV for all age groups (OR: 4.53, 4.03, 2.32, 2.46, 1.31) and RSV in older children from 3 years old and above (OR: 1.95, 3.38, p < 0.01) were significantly elevated after the COVID-19 outbreak. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that public health measures to contain COVID-19 may have unintended consequences on children’s natural exposure and immunity to other respiratory viruses, potentially increasing their morbidity in the post-pandemic era.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
19994915 and 39307344
Volume :
16
Issue :
11
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Viruses
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.ff4ab3930734401c91589c632dfda25d
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/v16111786