Prevalence and Seasonal Patterns of 16 Common Viral Respiratory Pathogens during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Gauteng Province, South Africa, 2020-2021

• Published in: Viruses 2024-08, Vol.16 (8), p.1325
• Main Authors: Reddy, Bhaveshan, Simane, Andiswa, Mthiyane, Hloniphile, Mashishi, Bonolo, Mbenenge, Nonhlanhla, Treurnicht, Florette K
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age groups; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Automation; Causes of; Child; Child, Preschool; Coinfection - epidemiology; Coinfection - virology; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - virology; Diagnosis; Disease transmission; Distribution; Female; Genetic aspects; Hospitals; Humans; Identification and classification; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Infections; Influenza; Influenza A; Intensive care units; Male; Middle Aged; Morbidity; Pandemics; Pathogens; Patients; Physiological aspects; Prevalence; Public health; Respiratory diseases; Respiratory syncytial virus; Respiratory tract infections; Respiratory Tract Infections - epidemiology; Respiratory Tract Infections - virology; respiratory viruses; SARS-CoV-2; SARS-CoV-2 - genetics; SARS-CoV-2 - isolation & purification; seasonal respiratory viruses; Seasonal variations; Seasons; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; South Africa - epidemiology; Statistical analysis; Viral infections; Viruses; Viruses - classification; Viruses - genetics; Viruses - isolation & purification; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1999-4915; 1999-4915
• DOI: 10.3390/v16081325

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in widespread morbidity and mortality, but generally, the diagnosis of other respiratory viruses was limited. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of other respiratory viruses during the 2020/2021 pandemic among patients of all ages who accessed care at public healthcare facilities in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Laboratory diagnosis for respiratory viruses, with or without SARS-CoV-2, was conducted via multiplex real-time polymerase chain reactions using respiratory specimens. A total of 1776 patients were included from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021, of which 766 (43.1%) were positive for respiratory viruses other than SARS-CoV-2. RV (368/1776; 20.7%) was the most prevalent, followed by RSV (304/1776; 17.1%), AdV (112/1776; 6.3%) and EV (105/1776; 5.9%). hCoV-OC43 (39/1776; 2.2%) was the most prevalent common coronavirus. SARS-CoV-2 co-infections were detected in 4.8% (24/500) of patients. Only 27.1% (482/1776) of patients were admitted to high-care or intensive care units. A decrease in respiratory virus detections was observed, except for RSV, EV and hCoV-OC43. RSV prevalence increased in 2021, while influenza A/B viruses remained undetected.