title: Detection of human bocavirus from children and adults with acute respiratory tract illness in Guangzhou, southern China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Human bocavirus (HBoV) is a newly discovered parvovirus associated with acute respiratory tract illness (ARTI) and gastrointestinal illness. Our study is the first to analyze the characteristics of HBoV-positive samples from ARTI patients with a wide age distribution from Guangzhou, southern China.
  
  
  METHODS
  Throat swabs (n=2811) were collected and analyzed from children and adults with ARTI over a 13-month period. The HBoV complete genome from a 60 year-old female patient isolate was also determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  HBoV DNA was detected in 65/2811 (2.3%) samples, of which 61/1797 were from children (<18 years old) and 4/1014 from adults (≥18 years old). Seasonal peaks of 4.8% and 7.7% were detected in May and June, respectively. 28 of 65 (43.1%) HBoV-positive samples were co-detected with 11/16 other potential pathogens. Mycoplasma pneumoniae had the highest frequency of 16.9% (11/65). Upper and lower respiratory tract illness were common symptoms, with 19/65 (29.2%) patients diagnosed with pneumonia by chest radiography. All four adult patients had systemic influenza-like symptoms. Phylogenetic analysis of the complete genome revealed a close relationship with other HBoVs, and a more distant relationship with HBoV2 and HBoV3.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HBoV was detected from children and adults with ARTI from Guangzhou, southern China. Elderly people were also susceptive to HBoV. A single lineage of HBoV was detected among a wide age distribution of patients with ARTI.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases, Guangzhou Medical University, 1 Kang Da Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510230, China.
authors.forename: Wen-Kuan
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: De-Hui
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Huan-Xi
authors.initials: HX
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Zi-Feng
authors.initials: ZF
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D016679:Genome, Viral; D056661:Human bocavirus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010322:Parvoviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D010614:Pharynx / Q000821:virology; D010802:Phylogeny; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral