title: Epidemiology of 11 respiratory RNA viruses in a cohort of hospitalized children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
abstract: Respiratory tract infections are a principal cause of illness and mortality in children worldwide and mostly caused by viruses. In this study, the epidemiology of 11 respiratory RNA viruses was investigated in a cohort of hospitalized children at a tertiary referral center in Riyadh from February 2008 to March 2009 using conventional and real-time monoplex RT-PCR assays. Among 174 nasopharyngeal aspirates, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was detected in 39 samples (22.41%), influenza A virus in 34 (19.54%), metapneumovirus (MPV) in 19 (10.92%), coronaviruses in 14 (8.05%), and parainfluenza viruses (PIVs) in 11 (6.32%). RSV, PIVs and coronaviruses were most prevalent in infants less than 6 months old, whereas MPV and influenza A virus were more prominent in children aged 7-24 and 25-60 months, respectively. The majority of the viruses were identified during winter with two peaks observed in March 2008 and January 2009. The presented data warrants further investigation to understand the epidemiology of respiratory viruses in Saudi Arabia on spatial and temporal basis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.|Department of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
authors.forename: Haitham M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Amer
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mohamed S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Alshaman
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mohamed A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Farrag
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Moawia E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Hamad
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Muslim M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Alsaadi
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Fahad N
authors.initials: FN
authors.lastname: Almajhdi
mesh_terms: D002673:Child, Hospitalized; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017934:Coronavirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008297:Male; D029121:Metapneumovirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000821:virology; D010222:Parainfluenza Virus 1, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012327:RNA Virus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D018113:Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human / Q000235:genetics; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012621:Seasons
keywords: Riyadh; epidemiology; molecular tools; prevalence; respiratory viruses