title: Comparison of asymptomatic and symptomatic rhinovirus infections in university students: incidence, species diversity, and viral load.
abstract: Human rhinovirus (HRV) infections are common but poorly characterized in university students. Thus, we characterized asymptomatic and symptomatic HRV infections by incidence, species diversity, and viral load of 502 university students during September and October of 2010 and 2011 from nasal swabs and electronically submitted symptom questionnaires. We tested all symptomatic students and randomly sampled participants who remained asymptomatic (n=25/week, over 8 weeks each study year) on a weekly basis by real-time PCR and sequenced HRV positives. HRV was identified in 33/400 (8.3%) and 85/92 (92.4%) of the asymptomatic and symptomatic students, respectively. We identified a higher than previously reported rate of HRV-B in both groups, although the distribution of HRV species was similar (P=0.37). Asymptomatic viral load averaged 1.2 log10 copies/mL lower than symptomatic HRV (P<0.001). In conclusion, asymptomatic HRV activity preceded peak symptomatic activity in September and October and was associated with lower viral load.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; St Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, ON, Canada. Electronic address: andrea.granados@mail.utoronto.ca.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Granados
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Emma C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Goodall
authors.affiliation: St Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Kathy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Luinstra
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; St Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Smieja
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; St Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mahony
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D058070:Asymptomatic Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D009297:Nasal Mucosa / Q000821:virology; D010850:Picornaviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012229:Rhinovirus / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012621:Seasons; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D019562:Viral Load; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Asymptomatic; Quantitative PCR; Rhinovirus; Species diversity; Viral load