title: Human parainfluenza virus type 4 infection in Chinese children with lower respiratory tract infections: a comparison study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Human parainfluenza viruses (HPIVs) are a leading cause of acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs). Although HPIV-4 has been associated with mild ARTIs for years, recent investigations have also associated HPIV-4 infection with severe respiratory syndromes and with outbreaks of ARTIs in children.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To characterize the role of HPIV-4 and its clinical features in children with acute lower respiratory tract infections (ALRTIs) in Beijing, China.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected from 2009 hospitalized children with ALRTIs between March 2007 and April 2010. RT-PCR and PCR analyses were used to identify HPIV types and other known respiratory viruses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  HPIVs were detected in 246 (12.2%) patients, of whom 25 (10.2%) were positive for HPIV-4, 11 (4.5%) for HPIV-2, 51 (20.7%) for HPIV-1, 151 (61.4%) for HPIV-3, and 8 (3.3%) were co-detected with different types of HPIVs. Like HPIV-3, HPIV-4 was detected in spring, summer, and late fall over the study period. Seasonal incidence varied for HPIV-1 and -2. The median patient age was 20 months for HPIV-4 infections and 7-11 months for HPIV-1, -2, and -3 infections, but the clinical manifestations did not differ significantly between HPIV-1, -2, -3, and -4 infections. Moreover, co-detection of HPIV-4 (44%) with other respiratory viruses was lower than that of HPIV-1 (62.7%), HPIV-2 (63.6%), and HPIV-3 (72.7%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HPIV-4 plays an important role in Chinese paediatric ALRTIs. The epidemiological and clinical characteristics reported here improve our understanding of the pathogenesis associated with HPIV-4.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Molecular Virology and Genetic Engineering and Dr. Christophe Mérieux Laboratory, IPB, CAMS-Fondation Mérieux, Institute of Pathogen Biology (IPB), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS) & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China.
authors.forename: Lili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.forename: Zhengde
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Zhaohui
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.forename: Chunyan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Zichun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Yongjun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Hongli
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Jianguo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Qingqing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Lan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vernet
authors.forename: Gláucia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Paranhos-Baccalà
authors.forename: Kunling
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Jianwei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000821:virology; D029482:Parainfluenza Virus 4, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D019351:Rubulavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D012621:Seasons
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral