Objective During the COVID-19 pandemic, the adopted containment measures
have affected other respiratory virus epidemiology. Consequently, we
aimed to describe the characteristics of respiratory virus infection in
hospitalized pediatric acute respiratory infections (ARIs) patients
prior to and throughout COVID-19 in East China. Methods Nasopharyngeal
secretions were collected from 9782 pediatric ARIs patients hospitalized
in Shaoxing Maternal and Child Health Hospital from January 2018 to
December 2022. Changes in positivity viral detection rates and
epidemiological as well as clinical characteristics were analyzed and
compared. Results 1633 strains of 7 common respiratory viruses were
detected, with a total positive rate of 16.37% (821/5021) in 2018-2019
and 17.06% (812/4761) in 2020-2022. Compared with 2018-2019, RSV
positive rate increased significantly in 2020-2022, while ADV, PIV-2,
PIV-3, and flu-B detection rates were significantly reduced (P
< 0.05). The RSV-positive rate in winter increased
significantly more than in other seasons (P < 0.05), while
PIV-3 was mainly prevalent in spring and summer. Conclusion During the
COVID-19 pandemic, there were significant age distribution and seasonal
differences in respiratory virus infection among hospitalized children
with ARIs in East China.