title: Epidemiology characteristics of respiratory viruses found in children and adults with respiratory tract infections in southern China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks respiratory tract infection (RTI) as the second leading cause of death worldwide for children under 5 years of age. The aim of this work was to evaluate the epidemiology characteristics of respiratory viruses found in children and adults with RTI from July 2009 to June 2012 in southern China.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this work, a total of 14 237 nasopharyngeal swabs (14 237 patients from 25 hospitals) were analyzed, and seven respiratory viruses (influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus, parainfluenza virus, adenovirus, human metapneumovirus, human coronavirus, human bocavirus) were detected using PCR/RT-PCR from nasopharyngeal swabs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The demographic characteristics, viral prevalence, age distribution, seasonal distribution, and pathogen spectrum of the patients with RTIs were analyzed. Co-infection was observed in 483 specimens, but it was more common in male patients, inpatients, children, and young adults. It varied by season, being more prevalent in the spring and summer and less so in the winter. Human coronavirus and human bocavirus were the most common pathogens, tending to occur in co-infection with other respiratory viruses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This work adds to our knowledge of the epidemiology characteristics of these seven common respiratory viruses among patients with RTI in southern China. The detection of the specific viral causes of infection provides a useful starting point for an understanding of illness attributable to respiratory infection, and might also provide data relevant to the development of prevention strategies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control, Sun Yat-sen University, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China; Department of Microbiology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, 74 Zhongshan Road II, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.
authors.forename: Dingmei
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control, Sun Yat-sen University, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China; Department of Microbiology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, 74 Zhongshan Road II, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.
authors.forename: Zhenjian
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control, Sun Yat-sen University, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China; Department of Microbiology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, 74 Zhongshan Road II, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control, Sun Yat-sen University, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China; Department of Microbiology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, 74 Zhongshan Road II, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.
authors.forename: Xun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control, Sun Yat-sen University, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China; Department of Microbiology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, 74 Zhongshan Road II, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.
authors.forename: Jueheng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control, Sun Yat-sen University, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China; Department of Microbiology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, 74 Zhongshan Road II, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.
authors.forename: Weitao
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control, Sun Yat-sen University, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China; Department of Microbiology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, 74 Zhongshan Road II, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control, Sun Yat-sen University, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China; Department of Microbiology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, 74 Zhongshan Road II, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control, Sun Yat-sen University, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China; Department of Microbiology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, 74 Zhongshan Road II, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.
authors.forename: Jieling
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control, Sun Yat-sen University, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China; Department of Microbiology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, 74 Zhongshan Road II, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.
authors.forename: Yiwen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control, Sun Yat-sen University, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China; Department of Microbiology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, 74 Zhongshan Road II, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China. Electronic address: limf@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Mengfeng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control, Sun Yat-sen University, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China; Department of Microbiology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, 74 Zhongshan Road II, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China. Electronic address: caoky@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Kaiyuan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cao
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D060085:Coinfection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D012621:Seasons; D014780:Viruses / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Respiratory tract infections; Respiratory viruses; Southern China