scholarly journals Pattern of Respiratory Viruses among Pilgrims during 2019 Hajj Season Who Sought Healthcare Due to Severe Respiratory Symptoms

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 315
Author(s):  
Salma M. Alsayed ◽  
Thamir A. Alandijany ◽  
Sherif A. El-Kafrawy ◽  
Ahmed M. Hassan ◽  
Leena H. Bajrai ◽  
...  

The aim of our study was to define the spectrum of viral infections in pilgrims with acute respiratory tract illnesses presenting to healthcare facilities around the holy places in Makkah, Saudi Arabia during the 2019 Hajj pilgrimage. During the five days of Hajj, a total of 185 pilgrims were enrolled in the study. Nasopharyngeal swabs (NPSs) of 126/185 patients (68.11%) tested positive for one or more respiratory viruses by PCR. Among the 126 pilgrims whose NPS were PCR positive: (a) there were 93/126 (74%) with a single virus infection, (b) 33/126 (26%) with coinfection with more than one virus (up to four viruses): of these, 25/33 cases had coinfection with two viruses; 6/33 were infected with three viruses, while the remaining 2/33 patients had infection with four viruses. Human rhinovirus (HRV) was the most common detected viruses with 53 cases (42.06%), followed by 27 (21.43%) cases of influenza A (H1N1), and 23 (18.25%) cases of influenza A other than H1N1. Twenty-five cases of CoV-229E (19.84%) were detected more than other coronavirus members (5 CoV-OC43 (3.97%), 4 CoV-HKU1 (3.17%), and 1 CoV-NL63 (0.79%)). PIV-3 was detected in 8 cases (6.35%). A single case (0.79%) of PIV-1 and PIV-4 were found. HMPV represented 5 (3.97%), RSV and influenza B 4 (3.17%) for each, and Parechovirus 1 (0.79%). Enterovirus, Bocavirus, and M. pneumoniae were not detected. Whether identification of viral nucleic acid represents nasopharyngeal carriage or specific causal etiology of RTI remains to be defined. Large controlled cohort studies (pre-Hajj, during Hajj, and post-Hajj) are required to define the carriage rates and the specific etiology and causal roles of specific individual viruses or combination of viruses in the pathogenesis of respiratory tract infections in pilgrims participating in the annual Hajj. Studies of the specific microbial etiology of respiratory track infections (RTIs) at mass gathering religious events remain a priority, especially in light of the novel SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 199-201
Author(s):  
Adrian Jarzynski ◽  
Agata Dubas ◽  
Malgorzata Polz-Dacewicz

ABSTRACT Viruses that cause respiratory tract infections are the most common agents of infectious diseases in humans throughout the world. A virus that infects the respiratory system, may induce various clinical symptoms. What is more, the same symptoms may be caused by different viruses. The aim of the study was to analyze the prevalence of enteroviruses that cause respiratory infections in patients with influenzavirus A/H1N1 hospitalized in the Lublin province. The experimental material was throat and nose swabs taken from patients hospitalized in Lublin and Tomaszow Lubelski. In the group of 44 patients (20 women and 24 men) infected with influenza A/H1N1, the genetic material of enteroviruses was detected in 13 patients (29.5%). Respiratory viruses co-infections are very common in hospitalized patients. Studies show that co-infection with influenza virus and enterovirus are more common in children than in adults. Moreover, viral respiratory tract infections are independent from the patients’ gender.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yueling Zhu ◽  
Wei Li ◽  
Binbin Yang ◽  
Ruiying Qian ◽  
Fang Wu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background To investigate the impact of protective measures and isolation on respiratory tract infections in children during the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods We extracted data on outpatient visits and respiratory infection visits, and tests of respiratory viruses (adenovirus (ADV), influenza A (FluA), influenza B (FluB) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)) from electronic healthcare records in Children’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine during the COVID-19 outbreak (January–April, 2020), compared with those in 2018 and 2019 during the same periods. Results We found that outpatient visits in January, 2020 was comparable with those in 2018 and 2019, but decreased by 59.9% (288,003 vs. 717,983) and 57.4% (288,003 vs. 676,704), respectively during the period of February-April, 2020, as compared with the same periods in 2018 and 2019. The total number of respiratory tract infections from January to April 2020 decreased by 65.7% (119,532 vs.348,762) and 59.0% (119,532 vs.291,557), respectively compared with the same periods in 2018 and 2019. The proportion of respiratory tract infections during the outbreak also dropped compared with the same periods in 2018 and 2019 (P<0.001). We also found significantly decreased number of completed tests for respiratory viruses and positive cases of ADV, FluA, FluB, and RSV during February-April, 2020. Conclusions In this study, we found that outpatient visits and respiratory tract infections in children significantly decreased during COVID-19 outbreak. Adequate protective measures and isolation in children may help to prevent respiratory virus infections in children.


1998 ◽  
Vol 121 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. T. CHEW ◽  
S. DORAISINGHAM ◽  
A. E. LING ◽  
G. KUMARASINGHE ◽  
B. W. LEE

To evaluate the seasonal trends of viral respiratory tract infections in a tropical environment, a retrospective survey of laboratory virus isolation, serology and immunofluorescence microscopy in two large general hospitals in Singapore between September 1990 and September 1994 was carried out. Respiratory tract viral outbreaks, particularly among infants who required hospitalization, were found to be associated mainly with respiratory syncytial (RSV) infections (72%), influenza (11%) and parainfluenza viruses (11%). Consistent seasonal variations in viral infections were observed only with RSV (March–August) and influenza A virus (peaks in June, December–January). The RSV trends were associated with higher environmental temperature, lower relative humidity and higher maximal day-to-day temperature variation. Although the influenza A outbreaks were not associated with meteorological factors, influenza B isolates were positively associated with rainfall. These data support the existence of seasonal trends of viral respiratory tract infections in the tropics.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guohong Zhu ◽  
Dan Xu ◽  
Yuanyuan Zhang ◽  
Tianlin Wang ◽  
Lingyan Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Viruses are the main infectious agents of acute respiratory infections in children. We aim to describe the epidemiological characteristics of viral pathogens of acute respiratory tract infections in outpatient children. Methods From April 2018 to March 2019, the results of viral detection using oral pharyngeal swabs from 103,210 children with acute respiratory tract infection in the outpatient department of the Children’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, were retrospectively analyzed. Viral antigens, including adenovirus (ADV), influenza A (FLUA), influenza B (FLUB) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), were detected by the colloidal gold method. Results At least one virus was detected in 38,355 cases; the positivity rate was 37.2%. A total of 1910 cases of mixed infection with two or more viruses were detected, and the positivity rate of multiple infection was 1.9%. The ADV positivity rate was highest in the 3–6-year-old group (18.7%), the FLUA positivity rate was highest in the > 6-year-old group (21.6%), the FLUB positivity rate was highest in the > 6-year-old group (6.6%), and the RSV positivity rate was highest in the < 1-year-old group (10.6%). There was a significant difference in the positivity rate of viral infection among different age groups (χ2 = 1280.7, P < 0.001). The rate of positive viral infection was highest in winter (47.1%). The ADV infection rate was highest in spring (18.2%). The rates of FLUA and FLUB positivity were highest in winter (28.8% and 3.6%, respectively). The rate of RSV positivity was highest in autumn (17.4%). The rate of positive viral infection in different seasons was significantly different (χ2 = 6459.1, P < 0.001). Conclusions Viral infection rates in children differ for different ages and seasons. The positivity rate of ADV is highest in the preschool period and that of RSV is highest in infants; that of FLU increases with age. The total positive rate of viral infection in different seasons is highest in winter, as is the rate of FLU positivity.


Author(s):  
Sagar A. Jawale

Introduction: In India and worldwide, there are millions of cases of acute respiratory infections annually killing hundreds of thousand people. It also has billions of dollars of losses worldwide. There are frequent outbreaks of deadly infections such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV), the novel swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus in Mexico in March 2009, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in 2012 and the current pandemic with Novel CoronaVirus -Covid19. I did my research to find a common effective, safe, and cheap therapynamed as Ozonated air inhalation therapy (OAIT) for respiratory infections. Materials and methods: In the last one year, I treated 21 patients (group A) with upper and lower respiratory tract infections (URTI and LRTI) with 0.1 ppm Ozonated air inhalation therapy (OAIT). OAIT was given as a monotherapy. In the same time period, 36 patients (group B) were given conventional treatment in the form of antibiotics, anti-histaminic and analgesics kept as control.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunčanica Ljubin-Sternak ◽  
Tomislav Meštrović ◽  
Ivana Lukšić ◽  
Maja Mijač ◽  
Jasmina Vraneš

Respiratory viral infections are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the world; however, there are several groups of viruses that are insufficiently routinely sought for, and can thus be considered neglected from a diagnostic and clinical standpoint. Timely detection of seasonality of certain respiratory viruses (e.g., enveloped viruses such as seasonal coronaviruses) in the local context can aid substantially in targeted and cost-effective utilization of viral diagnostic approaches. For the other, non-enveloped and year-round viruses (i.e., rhinovirus, adenovirus, and bocavirus), a continuous virological diagnosis needs to be implemented in clinical laboratories to more effectively address the aetiology of respiratory infections, and assess the overall impact of these viruses on disease burden. While the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is still actively unfolding, we aimed to emphasize the persistent role of seasonal coronaviruses, rhinoviruses, adenoviruses and bocaviruses in the aetiology of respiratory infections. Consequently, this paper concentrates on the burden and epidemiological trends of aforementioned viral groups on a global level, but also provides a snapshot of their prevalence patterns in Croatia in order to underscore the potential implications of viral seasonality. An overall global prevalence in respiratory tract infections was found to be between 0.5 and 18.4% for seasonal coronaviruses, between 13 and 59% for rhinoviruses, between 1 and 36% for human adenoviruses, and between 1 and 56.8% for human bocaviruses. A Croatian dataset on patients with respiratory tract infection and younger than 18 years of age has revealed a fairly high prevalence of rhinoviruses (33.4%), with much lower prevalence of adenoviruses (15.6%), seasonal coronaviruses (7.1%), and bocaviruses (5.3%). These insights represent a relevant discussion point in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic where the testing of non-SARS-CoV-2 viruses has been limited in many settings, making the monitoring of disease burden associated with other respiratory viruses rather difficult.


2011 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stéphane Jauréguiberry ◽  
David Boutolleau ◽  
Eric Grandsire ◽  
Tomek Kofman ◽  
Claire Deback ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Although acute respiratory tract infections (RTI) have been recognized as a significant cause of illness in returning travelers, few studies have specifically evaluated the etiologies of RTI in this population. Methods This prospective investigation evaluated travelers returning from countries with endemic influenza A(H1N1) 2009, and who were seen in our department at the onset of the outbreak (April–July 2009). Patients were included if they presented with signs of RTI that occurred during travel or less than 7 days after return from overseas travel. Patients were evaluated for microbial agents with RespiFinder plus assay, and throat culture according to clinical presentation. Results A total of 113 travelers (M/F ratio 1.2:1; mean age 39 y) were included. They were mainly tourists (n = 50; 44.2%) mostly returning from North America (n = 65; 58%) and Mexico (n = 21; 18.5%). The median duration of travel was 23 days (range 2–540 d). The median lag time between return and onset of illness was 0.2 days (range 10 d prior to 7 d after). The main clinical presentation of RTI was influenza-like illness (n = 76; 67.3%). Among the 99 microbiologically evaluated patients, a pathogen was found by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or throat culture in 65 patients (65.6%). The main etiological agents were influenza A(H1N1) 2009 (18%), influenza viruses (14%), and rhinovirus (20%). A univariate analysis was unable to show variables associated with influenza A(H1N1) 2009, whereas rhinorrhea was associated with viruses other than influenza (p = 0.04). Conclusion Despite the A(H1N1) 2009 influenza pandemic, rhinovirus and other influenza viruses were also frequent causes of RTI in overseas travelers. Real-time reverse transcription-PCR and nasopharyngeal swab cultures are useful diagnostic tools for evaluating travelers with RTI.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-75
Author(s):  
S. M. Bezrodnova ◽  
N. A. Yatsenko ◽  
O. O. Kravchenko ◽  
Sh. M. Khurtsilava

Objective: to study the clinical and epidemiological features of influenza in children in the Stavropol Territory.Materials and methods: influenza prevalence is analyzed from 2015 to 2017 the paper used the data from the Territorial Rospotrebnadzor in the Stavropol Territory. We used the following methods: bibliographic, monographic description, epidemiological, analytical, statistical methods.Results: Among the deciphered acute respiratory viral infections, the specific gravity of influenza A (H1N1) 09 in 2016 reached 78%, and in 2017 influenza B prevailed – in 57,4% of children, and influenza A (H3N2) – in 42,6% of cases. In 2016 68,5% of children under 6 years of age, of all admitted, were hospitalized, and in 2017 – 83,86%. We presented the peculiarities of the course of influenza in different epidemic seasons.Conclusion: Unvaccinated children up to 6 years of age have the disease mainly in severe forms and with complications. The epidemic period began to increase in 2015–2016 at week 52, and in 2016–2017 from week 48, ended at week 13 and at week 17. At the epidemic of 2015–2016, intoxication syndrome with chills, microcirculation disturbance, catarrhal syndrome, ARDS prevailed in the clinical picture. The epidemic season of 2016–2017 was characterized by intoxication syndrome, encephalic reaction, hemorrhagic and myalgic syndromes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 92 (23) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andres J. Gonzalez ◽  
Emmanuel C. Ijezie ◽  
Onesmo B. Balemba ◽  
Tanya A. Miura

ABSTRACTInfluenza viruses and rhinoviruses are responsible for a large number of acute respiratory viral infections in human populations and are detected as copathogens within hosts. Clinical and epidemiological studies suggest that coinfection by rhinovirus and influenza virus may reduce disease severity and that they may also interfere with each other’s spread within a host population. To determine how coinfection by these two unrelated respiratory viruses affects pathogenesis, we established a mouse model using a minor serogroup rhinovirus (rhinovirus strain 1B [RV1B]) and mouse-adapted influenza A virus (A/Puerto Rico/8/1934 [PR8]). Infection of mice with RV1B 2 days before PR8 reduced the severity of infection by a low or medium, but not high, dose of PR8. Disease attenuation was associated with an early inflammatory response in the lungs and enhanced clearance of PR8. However, coinfection by RV1B did not reduce PR8 viral loads early in infection or inhibit replication of PR8 within respiratory epithelia orin vitro. Inflammation in coinfected mice remained focal compared to diffuse inflammation and damage in the lungs of mice infected by PR8. The timing of RV1B coinfection was a critical determinant of protection, suggesting that sufficient time is needed to induce this response. Finally, disease attenuation was not unique to RV1B: dose-dependent coinfection by a murine coronavirus (mouse hepatitis virus strain 1 [MHV-1]) also reduced the severity of PR8 infection. Unlike RV1B, coinfection with MHV-1 reduced early PR8 replication, which was associated with upregulation of beta interferon (IFN-β) expression. This model is critical for understanding the mechanisms responsible for influenza disease attenuation during coinfection by unrelated respiratory viruses.IMPORTANCEViral infections in the respiratory tract can cause severe disease and are responsible for a majority of pediatric hospitalizations. Molecular diagnostics have revealed that approximately 20% of these patients are infected by more than one unrelated viral pathogen. To understand how viral coinfection affects disease severity, we inoculated mice with a mild viral pathogen (rhinovirus or murine coronavirus), followed 2 days later by a virulent viral pathogen (influenza A virus). This model demonstrated that rhinovirus can reduce the severity of influenza A virus, which corresponded with an early but controlled inflammatory response in the lungs and early clearance of influenza A virus. We further determined the dose and timing parameters that were important for effective disease attenuation and showed that influenza disease is also reduced by coinfection with a murine coronavirus. These findings demonstrate that coinfecting viruses can alter immune responses and pathogenesis in the respiratory tract.


Author(s):  
Iman S. Naga ◽  
Gamal Eldin Elsawaf ◽  
Mahmoud Elzalabany ◽  
Mohamed Youssef Eltalkhawy ◽  
Ola Kader

Abstract Respiratory infections have a significant impact on health worldwide. Viruses are major causes of acute respiratory infections among children. Limited information regarding its prevalence in Egypt is available. This study investigated prevalence of 10 respiratory viruses; Adenovirus, influenza A, B, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), Parainfluenza virus (PIV)type 1-4, enterovirus, and human coronavirus OC43 (HCoV-OC43) among children in Alexandria, Egypt presenting with acute lower respiratory tract infections. The study was conducted on children <14 years of age selected from ElShatby Pediatric Hospital, Alexandria University, Egypt. One hundred children presenting during winter season with influenza-like illness were eligible for the study. Oropharyngeal swabs were collected and subjected to viral RNA and DNA extraction followed by polymerase chain reaction. Viral infections were detected in 44% of cases. Adenovirus was the most common, it was found in 19% of the patients. Prevalence of PIV (3 and 4) and enterovirus was 7% each. Prevalence of RSV and HCoV-OC43 was 5% and 3% respectively. Two percentage were Influenza A positive and 1% positive for influenza B. Mixed viral infection was observed in 7%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the isolation of HCoV-OC43 from respiratory infections in Alexandria, Egypt.


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