Exploring the epidemiological changes of common respiratory viruses since the COVID-19 pandemic: a hospital study in Hangzhou, China

Abstract

Adenovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, and influenza virus are common causes of respiratory infections. The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on their prevalence. The aim of this study was to analyze the epidemic changes of common respiratory viruses in the Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University in Hangzhou, China, from October of 2017 to February of 2021. We collected statistics from 121,529 patients in the outpatient and inpatient departments of the hospital who had throat or nose swabs collected for testing for four virus antigens by the colloidal gold method. Of these, 13,200 (10.86%) were positive for influenza A virus, 8,402 (6.91%) were positive for influenza B virus, 6,056 (4.98%) were positive for adenovirus, and 4,739 (3.90%) were positive for respiratory syncytial virus. The positivity rates of the influenza A virus (0-14 years old, P = 0.376; over 14 years old, P = 0.197) and respiratory syncytial virus (0-14 years old, P = 0.763; over 14 years old, P = 0.465) did not differ significantly by gender. After January of 2020, influenza virus infection decreased significantly. The positivity rate of respiratory syncytial virus remained high, and its epidemic season was similar to before. Strict respiratory protection and regulation of crowd activities have a great impact on the epidemic characteristics of viruses. After major changes in the public health environment, virus epidemics and their mutations should be monitored closely, extensively, and continuously.

Analysis of Prevalence and Predictive Factors of Long-Lasting Olfactory and Gustatory Dysfunction in COVID-19 Patients

“…Another limitation of our study may be due to the appearance or worsening of chemosensory dysfunction caused by other (non-controlled) upper respiratory tract infections during the follow-up period. Although this confusion factor could have led to a selection bias, we should highlight that the protection and isolation measures used for respiratory tract infections during the pandemic helped prevent infections from all respiratory viruses [ 57 , 61 ], and consequently, we can claim that the long-lasting chemosensory impairment seen in our study at the 12-month follow-up may be mostly attributed to the primary SARS-CoV-2 infection.…”

Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of respiratory syncytial virus and influenza infections in hospitalized children before and during the COVID‐19 pandemic in Central China

“… 1 And these results were similar to the studies from Guangdong and Zhejiang province of China. 10 , 12 This altered activity patterns between these viruses hinted that the public health measures against SARS‐CoV‐2 had more effective impact on influenza than RSV. 5 One plausible reason for this observation could be the ability of RSV to survive for longer duration out of a host and its ability to quickly spread via direct contact.…”

“… 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 There were several hospital‐based studies from eastern and southern provinces of mainland China, which noted a high activity of RSV with a typical epidemic season. 10 , 11 , 12 However, no such studies are available, which covered the epidemiological and clinical information of patients from central China.…”

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection: A Narrative Review

“…The RSV positivity rate remained high, although the number of samples was lower than in the previous season. 52 In another study conducted by Li et al there was even a prominent increase in the RSV infection rate from 6.6% to 20.1%, during September to December in 2019 and 2020, respectively. There were 2298 cases in 2019 and 3398 in 2020.…”

“…Another possible reason is that proper wearing of masks is more difficult in children under 2 years old and there is greater susceptibility to RSV infection in children younger than 2 years old. 52,53 Overall, the most important reason for such a significant reduction of RSV during the COVID-19 pandemic is likely the implementation of PHSMs. Since the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, governments have paid considerable attention to these measures, which include personal protective measures, such as facial coverings, mask-wearing, hand hygiene, social distancing, environmental measures, and surveillance and response measures.…”