Human Bocavirus among Viral Causes of Pediatric Respiratory Tract Infections at Benha University Hospital

Abstract

Background/Aim: Human bocavirus (HBoV) is a recently discovered parvovirus associated with acute respiratory tract infections in children. The aim of this study was to define the epidemiological profile and the clinical characteristics associated with HBoV infection in a population of children hospitalized with respiratory tract infections at Benha University Hospital, especially in terms of HBoV load. Methods: 200 nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected and analyzed at the period from September 2010 to July 2011 from children with respiratory manifestations, their ages ranged from 1 month to 12 years. All samples were tested for HBoV DNA by quantitative real time PCR and tested by Ag detection immunofluorescence test for 8 of the most important viruses encountered in lower respiratory tract infections in infants & children namely, Adenovirus(ADV), Influenza A and B (Flu-A and B), Para influenza 1,2 and3 (PIV 1-3), Human metapnuemovirus (HMPV) and Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Results: Our results revealed that HBoV was the most prevalent virus 20/200 (10%) followed by RSV (8%) and HMPV (4%). 15/20 (75%) of HBoV+ samples were in co-infection with one of the tested viral agents and the majority of the co-infections, 10/15 (66.7%) were HBoV-RSV co-infection. The mean age of HBoV+ cases was 19.1 months and the majority 14/20 (70%) were under 2 years old. HBoV+ cases were concentrated in the winter season. No significant differences were found in term of age , gender or frequencies of respiratory manifestations between patients with sole HBoV infection and patients with coinfection with other viruses. The median viral load in patients with sole HBoV infection (196x10 5) was significantly higher than those who had co-infection with other respiratory viruses (0.033x10 5) (p=0.006). The manifestations observed in patients with serious lower respiratory tract infections, like tachypnea, dyspnea and cyanosis, were significantly presented more frequently in children with high HBoV loads than those with low HBoV load. On conclusion: HBoV is one of the most prevalent respiratory viruses and plays an important role in respiratory illness in children.

Detection and phylogenetic analysis of Human bocavirus in children diagnosed with acute respiratory tract infection

“…and Jiang et al . who found 10 and 8.85% incidences at Benha University in 2010–2011 [36] and at Children’s Hospital of Soochow University in 2013–2014, respectively [37]. Higher incidences (22, 56.8 and 15.4 %) were reported by Zaghloul et al .…”

Epidemiology of Human Bocavirus in the Middle East and North Africa: Systematic Review

“…Abdel-Moneim et al ( 2016) used newly developed primers to increase the sensitivity of the PCR test for HBoV detection. Using these novel primers, the prevalence of HBoV was 56.8%, which significantly differs from previous and further studies conducted in Egypt, which found prevalence values of 22%, 10% and 18.2% respectively [12,13,17]. Abdel-Moneim et al explained that the high rate of prevalence of HBoV-1 was reported because of a potential nosocomial pathogen among pediatric care units.…”

“…HBoV is detected more frequently with other viruses in the respiratory and gastrointestinal tract (Table 2). HBoV co-infection is present at a high rate among the tested samples, especially with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) [13,32,41], which is the most prominent virus that causes respiratory illness. However, there is a conflict regarding the role of HBoV in cases of co-infection.…”

“…However, there is a conflict regarding the role of HBoV in cases of co-infection. Some studies reported no differences in clinical severity between patients hospitalized with a single infection (sole virus) and those with viral co-infection [13,47]. Others proved that more disease severity was associated with high viral load detected in a single infection [18,76].…”