Viral etiology of lower respiratory tract infections in adults in the pre‐COVID‐19 pandemic era: A cross‐sectional study in a single center experience from Cameroon

Abstract

Background and Aims: Respiratory viruses are responsible for the majority of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) worldwide. However, there is a gap on the epidemiology of viral LRTIs in adults in sub-Saharan African countries. In Cameroon, like in other countries, the role of viral respiratory pathogens in the etiology of LRTIs in adults is helpful for clinical management. This study aimed to determine the viral aetiologies of LRTIs among hospitalized adults in a reference center for respiratory diseases in the town of Yaounde in Cameroon and its surroundings. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2017 to January 2018 at Jamot Hospital in Yaounde (Cameroon). Clinical and demographic information; BAL and sputa were collected from hospitalized patients meeting LRTI case definitions. The clinical samples were investigated for respiratory pathogens with a commercial Reverse Transcriptase Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) targeting 21 viruses, cultures for bacterial and fungal infections. Results: The 77 included adult patients with LRTIs had an appropriate clinical sample for microbial investigations. A viral agent was detected in 22.1% (17/77) samples. The main viruses detected included rhinovirus (10/77), coronavirus (hCoV-OC43 and hCoV-229E), and influenza A virus (3/77 each). A concomitant viral and bacterial co-infection occurred in 7.8% of patients (6/77) while viral co-infection occurred in one patient (1.3%). No Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was detected in clinical samples. Most patients were under antimicrobials before getting diagnosed.

Patterns of Non‐influenza Respiratory Viruses Among Severe Acute Respiratory Infection Cases in Burkina Faso: A Surveillance Study

“…The overall prevalence however varied according to the age groups, and in the current study, children below 12 months of age and preschool‐age children 1–4 years of age were the most affected. This trend was also supported by a study in Cameron among adults, which reported a low prevalence of 25% [ 29 ]. A study conducted among children below 5 years of age reported much higher prevalence with nearly 83% although this included influenza infections [ 30 ].…”