title: Molecular viral epidemiology and clinical characterization of acute febrile respiratory infections in hospitalized children in Taiwan.
abstract: Acute respiratory infection (ARI) is a leading cause of morbidity and hospitalization in children. To profile the viruses causing ARI in children admitted to a community-based hospital in central Taiwan, a cross-sectional study was conducted on children under 14 years of age that were hospitalized with febrile ARI. Viral etiology was determined using conventional cell culture and a commercial respiratory virus panel fast assay (xTAG RVP), capable of detecting 19 different respiratory viruses and subtype targets. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were recorded and analyzed. The RVP fast assay identified at least one respiratory virus in 130 of the 216 specimens examined (60.2%) and rose to 137 (63.4%) by combining the results of cell culture and RVP fast assay. In order of frequency, the etiological agents identified were, rhinovirus/enterovirus (24.6%), respiratory syncytial virus (13.8%), adenovirus (11.5%), parainfluenza virus (9.2%), influenza B (8.4%), influenza A (5.4%), human metapneumovirus (4.6%), human coronavirus (2%), and human bocavirus (2%). Co-infection did not result in an increase in clinical severity. The RVP assay detected more positive specimens, but failed to detect 6 viruses identified by culture. The viral detection rate for the RVP assay was affected by how many days after admission the samples were taken (P = 0.03). In conclusion, Rhinovirus/enterovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, and adenovirus were prevalent in this study by adopting RVP assay. The viral detection rate is influenced by sampling time, especially if the tests are performed during the first three days of hospitalization.
authors.affiliation: Departmentof Pediatrics, Chang Bing Show Chwan Memorial Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chun-Yi
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Chang Bing Show Chwan Memorial Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yu-Fen
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chia-Lin
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Departmentof Pediatrics, Chang Bing Show Chwan Memorial Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Meng-Che
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Departmentof Pediatrics, Chang Bing Show Chwan Memorial Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chi-Lin
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.affiliation: Departmentof Pediatrics, Chang Bing Show Chwan Memorial Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yu-Chuan
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.|Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.|Institute of Public Health, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yu-Jiun
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002673:Child, Hospitalized; D002675:Child, Preschool; D060085:Coinfection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / Q000379:methods; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D014773:Virology / Q000379:methods; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D014780:Viruses / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*
keywords: acute respiratory infection; children; epidemiology; respiratory viruses; xTAG RVP fast assay