Rhinovirus infection among severe acute respiratory infection cases in hospitalized children in Xuzhou city, Jiangsu province, 2015−2021

  Objective  To understand the composition of viral profiles in cases of severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) in hospitalized children in Xuzhou city, Jiangsu province, 2015−2021, and further investigate the molecular epidemiological characteristics of human rhinovirus (hRV).

  Methods  Common respiratory viruses were detected in pharyngeal swab specimens using real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A nested PCR method was used to amplify the gene sequences of the VP4/VP2 region of hRV-positive samples, construct a phylogenetic tree, and perform homology analysis.

  Results  Respiratory viruses were detected positively in 641 of 1663 specimens (38.54%). hRV had the highest detection rate of 13.95% (232/1663). hRV detection rate was significantly higher in 2018 (28.08%); showing seasonal epidemiological characteristics of summer and autumn peaks. After 2020, the detection rate of hRV decreased significantly from January to June, but rebounded rapidly after July and increased significantly in the age group of 3−6 years and decreased significantly in the group of ≥6 years. hRV sequence comparison analysis of the VP4/VP2 region revealed that 29 serotypes were involved, with hRV-A group predominating.

  Conclusion  hRV is the main prevalent respiratory virus among SARI cases in hospitalized children in Xuzhou from 2015−2021, with hRV-A group as the main prevalent group and a diversity of serotypes. The prevalence of hRV rebounded rapidly in 2020 after a brief suppression., suggesting the need for continuous surveillance of hRV infection.