Infection status and molecular typing of rhinovirus in children acute respiratory tract infection cases in Changchun city from 2019 to 2021

  Objective   To investigate rhinovirus infection in hospitalized children with acute respiratory tract infection and the molecular typing of rhinovirus positive cases from June 2019 to May 2021 in Changchun city, China.

  Methods   A total of 8 respiratory viruses were tested by real-time PCR, including human respiratory syncytial viruses, rhinoviruses, influenza viruses, adenoviruses, parainfluenza viruses, enteroviruses, human metapneumoviruses, and boca viruses. For rhinovirus-positive cases, nested reverse transcription PCR was used to amplify VP1 region, and Sanger sequencing was used to attain targeted sequences from amplification products.

  Results   61.87% (774/1251) of 1251 throat swab samples were detected with at least one type of respiratory virus. The positive rates of respiratory syncytial virus and rhinovirus were 19.18% (240/1251) and 18.63% (233/1251), respectively, which were the top two among all the detected respiratory virus. There was no statistical difference between genders in the detection of rhinovirus. The age of detection was mainly concentrated in the 1 to 3 years old group, accounting for 67.81% of all rhinovirus infection cases. In terms of time distribution, rhinovirus showed a seasonal epidemic peak in summer and autumn, and the detection peak was from September to October. A total of 161 rhinovirus VP1 sequences were obtained and then identified as 55 types, 37 types of Rhinovirus A, 4 types of Rhinovirus B as well as 14 types of Rhinovirus C, of which RV-A12 and RV-A49 were in the front rank with 12 sequences acquired.

  Conclusion   From June 2019 to May 2021, the positive rate of rhinovirus was the second highest among all the detected respiratory virus in acute respiratory tract infection cases in Changchun city, which was lower than that of human respiratory syncytial virus. Rhinovirus A was the prevalent species of rhinovirus that associated with acute respiratory tract infection in children in Changchun city, followed by Rhinovirus C and Rhinovirus B. RV-A12 and RV-A49 were identified as the dominant types circulating in Changchun city from 2019 to 2021.