title: Human rhinovirus C: Age, season, and lower respiratory illness over the past 3 decades.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Human rhinoviruses (HRVs) cause common colds, and the recently discovered HRV-C is increasingly associated with lower respiratory illness among populations such as children and asthmatic patients.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine how HRV-C is associated with respiratory illness and to evaluate changes in prevalence and species over 2 decades.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective study of children younger than 5 years was performed at the Vanderbilt Vaccine Clinic over a 21-year period. Nasal-wash specimens from children presenting with upper or lower respiratory illness at acute care visits were tested for HRV and HRV-positives genotyped. Demographic and clinical features were compared between children with or without HRV, and with different HRV species.
  
  
  RESULTS
  HRV was detected in 190 of 527 (36%) specimens from a population of 2009 children from 1982 through 2003. Of these, 36% were HRV-C. Age (P = .039) and month of illness (P < .001) were associated with HRV infection and HRV species. HRV-C was significantly associated with lower respiratory illness, compared with HRV-A (P = .014). HRV-A and HRV-C prevalence fluctuated throughout the 21-year period; HRV-C was more prevalent during winter (P = .058).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HRV-C is not a new virus but has been significantly associated with childhood lower respiratory illness in this population for several decades. Temporal changes in virus prevalence occur, and season may predict virus species. Our findings have implications for diagnostic, preventive, and treatment strategies due to the variation in disease season and severity based on species of HRV infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA.
authors.forename: Jodell E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Linder
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Kraft
authors.forename: Yassir
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mohamed
authors.forename: Zengqi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Luke
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Heil
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tollefson
authors.forename: Benjamin R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Saville
authors.forename: Peter F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: John V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: E Kathryn
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D003139:Common Cold / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012229:Rhinovirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D012621:Seasons