Epidemiology of 11 respiratory RNA viruses in a cohort of hospitalized children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

• Published in: Journal of medical virology 2016-06, Vol.88 (6), p.1086-1091
• Main Authors: Amer, Haitham M., Alshaman, Mohamed S., Farrag, Mohamed A., Hamad, Moawia E., Alsaadi, Muslim M., Almajhdi, Fahad N.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Child, Hospitalized; Child, Preschool; Coronavirus - genetics; Coronavirus - isolation & purification; Cross-Sectional Studies; Epidemiology; Female; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Influenza A virus; Influenza A virus - genetics; Influenza A virus - isolation & purification; Male; Metapneumovirus - genetics; Metapneumovirus - isolation & purification; molecular tools; Nasopharynx - virology; Parainfluenza Virus 1, Human - genetics; Parainfluenza Virus 1, Human - isolation & purification; Pediatrics; prevalence; Respiratory syncytial virus; Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human - genetics; Respiratory Tract Infections - epidemiology; Respiratory Tract Infections - virology; respiratory viruses; Ribonucleic acid; Riyadh; RNA; RNA Virus Infections - epidemiology; RNA Virus Infections - virology; Saudi Arabia - epidemiology; Seasons; Short Communication; Short Communications; Virology
• ISSN: 0146-6615; 1096-9071
• DOI: 10.1002/jmv.24435

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. J. Med. Virol. 88:1086–1091, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.