[Different species of human rhinovirus infection in children with acute respiratory tract infections in Beijing].
OBJECTIVE
To understand the clinical characteristics of different groups human rhinovirus (HRV)-A, B and C infection in children with acute respiratory tract infections (ARI) in Beijing.


METHODS
Respiratory tract specimens (n = 1412) collected from children with ARI during Jan. 2011 to Dec. 2012 were tested for HRV by using semi-nested PCR. Gene fragments of VP4/VP2 capsid protein amplified from HRV positive specimens were sequenced for HRV genotype confirmation. Then epidemiological characteristics of these HRV-positive cases were analyzed.


RESULTS
Among these 1412 specimens tested, 103 (7.3%) were HRV positive, including 54 (52.4%) positive for HRV-A, 14 (13.6%) for HRV-B, 35 (34.0%) for HRV-C determined by sequence analysis. The positive rates of HRV-A, B and C (2.5%, 16/638; 0.3%, 2/638 and 1.3%, 8/638) in children with acute upper respiratory tract infections (URI) were lower than those (5.8%, 36/623; 1.8%, 11/623 and 3.9%, 24/623) in children with acute lower respiratory tract infections (LRI) (P = 0.003, 0.011, 0.003). In children with LRI, the positive rates of HRV-A, C were similar to each other (P = 0.112), and both were higher than that of HRV-B (P = 0.000, P = 0.026). The severity of ARI among children positive for different groups HRV showed no significant difference evaluated by Kruskal-Wallis H test (Hc = 0.044, P > 0.05), as well as that between children co-infected with HRV and other viruses and those infected with HRV only evaluated by Wilcoxon rank sum test (Zc = 0.872, P > 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
HRV is one of important pathogens for children with ARI, especially LRI in Beijing. The positive rates of HRV-A and HRV-C are similar to each other, and both are higher than that of HRV-B. No significant difference was shown among children with different HRV genotypes by evaluation of the severity of ARI, and co-infections of HRV with other viruses do not significantly increase the severity of ARI.
Laboratory of Virology, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing 100020, China.
Ming-hui
MH
Song
Laboratory of Virology, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing 100020, China. Email: linqingzhao@gmail.com.
Lin-qing
LQ
Zhao
Laboratory of Virology, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing 100020, China.
Yuan
Y
Qian
Laboratory of Virology, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing 100020, China.
Ru-nan
RN
Zhu
Laboratory of Virology, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing 100020, China.
Jie
J
Deng
Laboratory of Virology, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing 100020, China.
Fang
F
Wang
Laboratory of Virology, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing 100020, China.
Yu
Y
Sun
Laboratory of Virology, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing 100020, China.
Run
R
Tian
D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D010802:Phylogeny; D010850:Picornaviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012229:Rhinovirus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA; D012720:Severity of Illness Index