title: Characterization of acute respiratory infections among 340 infants in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To investigate the etiological and epidemiological features of acute respiratory infections among children in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nasopharyngeal swab specimens were collected from 340 pediatric patients from Wuxi Second People's Hospital from June 2012 to May 2014. Seven respiratory viruses including influenza virus A (FA), influenza virus B (FB), parainfluenza virus I (PIVI), parainfluenza virus II (PIVII), parainfluenza virus III (PIVIII), adenovirus (ADV), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) were detected using direct immunofluorescence method. Epidemiological analysis was performed in terms of gender, age, and seasonal distribution.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among these 340 patients, viral pathogens were detected in 116 cases (34.12%), with the leading three viruses being RSV (16.18%; 55/340), FB (5.29%; 18/340), and FA (5.00%; 17/340). The positive rate was not significantly different between male (36.32%; 73/201) and female (31.65%; 44/139) patients (P>0.05). The positive rate was highest in the 0-1-year-old group (48.48%; 32/66) and in winter (42.72%; 44/103).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  RSV is the most commonly detected respiratory virus in Wuxi. Infants aged 0-1 year should be a priority population during disease prevention and control. Respiratory infections among children are more common in winter.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Pediatrics, 2 Department of Laboratory Medicine, Wuxi Second People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi 214002, China ; 3 Department of Pediatrics, Wuxi People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi 214002, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Pediatrics, 2 Department of Laboratory Medicine, Wuxi Second People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi 214002, China ; 3 Department of Pediatrics, Wuxi People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi 214002, China.
authors.forename: Zhijun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Pediatrics, 2 Department of Laboratory Medicine, Wuxi Second People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi 214002, China ; 3 Department of Pediatrics, Wuxi People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi 214002, China.
authors.forename: Hongmin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Pediatrics, 2 Department of Laboratory Medicine, Wuxi Second People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi 214002, China ; 3 Department of Pediatrics, Wuxi People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi 214002, China.
authors.forename: Juanjuan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Pediatrics, 2 Department of Laboratory Medicine, Wuxi Second People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi 214002, China ; 3 Department of Pediatrics, Wuxi People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi 214002, China.
authors.forename: Mingzhu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Pediatrics, 2 Department of Laboratory Medicine, Wuxi Second People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi 214002, China ; 3 Department of Pediatrics, Wuxi People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi 214002, China.
authors.forename: Haibin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sun
keywords: Respiratory viruses; children; pathogen