Human Bocavirus Infection in Children with Acute Respiratory Infection in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

Background: Acute respiratory infection (ARI) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children under five years of age in developing countries with viruses contributing significantly to this problem. The recently identified parvovirus, Human Bocavirus (HBoV), has also been associated with ARI. Objective: To determine the frequency of HBoV in patients with ARI. Materials and Methods: Samples from 125 consenting patients with influenza like illness signs and symptoms were collected. DNA was extracted from these samples using the QIAamp DNA blood mini kit (Qiagen, Germany). Conventional PCR was carried out and the amplicons were examined in 2% agarose gels stained with ethidium bromide. This was followed by sequencing of the HBoV positive samples. Results: Twenty one (16.8%) patients were found to have HBoV infection. Males (n = 61.9%) were mainly infected with HBoV. Local HBoV strains had 98.9%-100% similarities and were found to cluster together with other strains obtained elsewhere. Conclusion: These findings suggest that HBoV plays a role in respiratory tract infections in children in Kenya just like it has been found elsewhere. It also sheds light on multiple infections associated with HBoV infections in Kenya.

Detection of Human Bocavirus in Egyptian Children Suffering from Acute Lower Respiratory Tract Infection

“…Our results showed that the detection rate of HBoV DNA from NPA samples of children with ALRI was 15.4%, that was in agreement with the results reported by Symekher et al, (2013) that was(16.8%)also it was in agreement with other studies which have had a detection range of between 1.5% -19% (Allander et al, 2007,AlRousan2011) and with another study by Dunn and Miller (2014)that reported, HBoV can be detected to in 1.6 to 21.5% of children with symptoms of respiratory tract infection.…”

Prevalence of Human Bocavirus in Africa and Other Developing Countries between 2005 and 2016: A Potential Emerging Viral Pathogen for Diarrhea

“…The high detection rate of HBoV in Africa was consistent with the global increase of HBoV in children less than 5 years of age [4,59]. Children of all age group are most likely to experience HBoV infection as a result of poor sanitation and hygiene practices [59]. The most predominant HBoV subtype identified in Africa was HBoV1, which was detected in all the studies.…”

“…The prevalence of HBoV in Africa was 13% in individuals suffering from gastroenteritis with and without respiratory tract symptoms. The high detection rate of HBoV in Africa was consistent with the global increase of HBoV in children less than 5 years of age [4,59]. Children of all age group are most likely to experience HBoV infection as a result of poor sanitation and hygiene practices [59].…”

Human Bocavirus Infection Among Children with Respiratory Tract Infection in Ibadan, Nigeria

“…This seasonal character could be a result of the cold temperature observed in these months of the year as supported by the findings of Erling et al (15). Although not significant, females (59.3%) were found to have a higher prevalence of HBoV in this study (Table 3) among children in South America (13,(16)(17)(18). Children of age group >1 -2 years had the highest detection rate and showed symptoms of highest severity (Table 3).…”

“…reported by Symekher et al among Kenyan children (7,(11)(12)(13). This difference could be as a result of sampling strategy, severity of illness in the children recruited and different climates.…”