Dataset Information

Respiratory Infections in Children During a Covid-19 Pandemic Winter

ABSTRACT: Background: The Covid-19 pandemic compelled the implementation of measures to curb the SARS CoV-2 spread, such as social distancing, wearing FFP2 masks, and frequent hand hygiene. One anticipated ramification of these measures was the containment of other pathogens. This prospective, longitudinal study aimed to investigate the spread of 22 common seasonal non-SARS-CoV-2 pathogens, such as RSV and influenza, among children with an acute respiratory infection during a pandemic. Methods: Three hundred ninety children (0-24 months) admitted to Vienna's largest pediatric center with acute respiratory infection (November 2020-April 2021) were included in this study. The researchers tested nasal swabs for 22 respiratory pathogens by Multiplex PCR, documented clinical features and treatment, and evaluated data for a potential connection with the lockdown measures then in force. Results: The 448 smears revealed the most common pathogens to be rhino-/enterovirus (41.4%), adenovirus (2.2%), and coronavirus NL63 (13.6%). While the first two were active throughout the entire season, coronaviruses peaked in the first trimester of 2021 in conjunction with the lift of the lockdown period (OR 4.371, 95%CI 2.34-8.136, P < 0.001). RSV, metapneumovirus, and influenza were absent. Conclusion: This prospective, longitudinal study shows that Covid-19 measures suppressed the seasonal activity of influenza, RSV, and metapneumovirus among very young children, but not of rhino-/enterovirus and adenovirus. The 0-24 month-olds are considered the lowest risk group and were only indirectly affected by the public health measures. Lockdowns were negatively associated with coronaviruses infections.

SUBMITTER: Diesner-Treiber S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8558488 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:Under the strict quarantine policy imposed to combat the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic in Japan, the prevalence of respiratory infections by viruses other than SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) has been largely unknown. However, such information on viral circulation is important in order to develop better management policies that are based on scientific data. Here, we retrospectively investigated respiratory virus infections in individuals who visited a community hospital with respiratory symptoms between June of 2020 and September of 2021 with the use of the BioFire FilmArray Respiratory Panel 2.1. Virus was detected in 65 out of a total of 328 subjects, with SARS-CoV-2 (67.7%), rhino/enterovirus (18.5%), and parainfluenza virus 3 (7.7%) accounting for most of the infections. No influenza virus or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections were detected. The monthly cases of rhino/enterovirus infection were highest from winter to spring, with this temporal pattern differing from that of SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-2 was detected more frequently (P < 0.001) in subjects with cough (31/104 cases, 29.8%) than in those without cough (13/224 cases, 5.8%), suggesting that cough might contribute to the prediction of COVID-19. Our findings also suggest that testing for rhino/enterovirus and parainfluenza virus 3, in addition to SARS-CoV-2, may be important for the rigorous diagnosis of respiratory virus infections. IMPORTANCE Influenza virus, RSV, adenovirus, and rhino/enterovirus were the major respiratory viruses before COVID-19 pandemic. Circulating respiratory viruses may have been affected by our strong quarantine policy during the COVID-19 pandemic. We checked the circulating respiratory viruses from our outpatients by using a multiplex PCR kit that had recently been released. SARS-CoV-2 was the most frequently detected virus, and it was followed by rhino/enterovirus and parainfluenza virus 3. No influenza virus or RSV infections were detected during our study period, suggesting that influenza virus and RSV became almost extinct. COVID-19 cases frequently experienced cough, and this frequency was statistically significantly higher than that observed in the cases without SARS-CoV-2 detection. The cough can be an indicator of COVID-19.

Project description:IntroductionThe incidence of acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) in children is difficult to estimate because they are typically treated in outpatient settings and the majority of epidemiological data originate from hospital settings and refer to the most severe illnesses. Therefore, the incidence of ARTIs in a real-world setting remains largely unexplored. Therefore, this study aims to estimate the incidence of ARTIs, upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs), and lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) in children aged 0-5 years in an outpatient setting.MethodsThis prospective cohort study was conducted in Lombardy, Italy, from October 1st, 2019, to March 31st, 2021, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic that began in March 2020. Caucasian healthy children aged 0-5 years were recruited from 69 Family Pediatricians (FP) and followed-up in an outpatient setting. Data were collected whenever a child was referred to FP and ARTI was diagnosed (Covid-19 related ARTI were excluded). The primary outcome was an estimate of the incidence of ARTIs. The incidence of ARTIs in different age groups and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the incidence of ARTIs were secondary outcomes.ResultsWe enrolled 484 children, 249 male (51.8%), mean age of 2.39 ± 1.68 years. The mean estimated incidence of ARTIs was 12.1/100 children × 30 days (95% CIs: 9.5-12.9), with the highest value observed in infants aged 1-12 months (24.9/100 children × 30 days; 95% CIs: 17.6-28.9). The mean estimated incidence of URTIs was higher than that of LRTIs (8.3 - CIs: 7.6-8.9 vs 3.8/100 children × 30 days - CIs: 6.4-4.3, respectively). The comparison of ARTIs, which occurred in the pre-pandemic winter, to those measured during the COVID-19 pandemic, revealed an impressive 82.1% drop in the incidence rate (CIs: 77.8-85.7).ConclusionsThis study showed that infants aged 1-12 months are more likely to develop ARTIs than older children and that COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically altered the epidemiology of ARTIs in children aged 0-5 years.

Dataset Information

Respiratory Infections in Children During a Covid-19 Pandemic Winter

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets