ABSTRACT
Objective @#To investigate the clinical and molecular epidemiological characteristics of 10 patients with enterovirus (EV)-D68 infections in the respiratory tract in Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province, so as to provide insights into formulation of control interventions for EV-D68 infections.@*Methods@#Clinical specimens were sampled from patients with acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) admitted to sentinel hospitals in Shaoxing City from 2021 to 2022, and EV-D68 was detected using real-time fluorescent PCR assay and sequencing of the VP1 region of enterovirus. The epidemiological and etiological characteristics of EV-D68 infected cases were descriptively analyzed. @*Results@#A total of 3 009 specimens were sampled from patients with ARTIs from 2021 to 2022, and the detection of EV-D68 was 0.33%. Of all EV-D68-infected patients, there were 6 men and 4 women, and 5 cases under 18 years of age, 2 cases at ages of 18 to 60 years and 3 cases at ages of over 60 years. EV-D68 infection predominantly occurred in summer (5 cases detected between May and July) and autumn (5 cases detected between September and October). The main clinical symptoms included fever (10 cases), sore throat (9 cases) and cough (8 cases), and all 10 cases recovered well, with no deaths reported. Sequencing identified D3 subtype in all 10 specimens positive for EV-D68. @*Conclusions@#The ARTIs caused by EV-D68 occurred predominantly among children under 18 years of age in Shaoxing City, and was highly prevalent in summer and autumn. D3 was the predominant enterovirus subtype.
ABSTRACT
Objective@#To investigate the epidemiological and etiological characteristics of viral diarrhea among children under 5 years of age in Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province, so as to provide insights into management of viral diarrhea.@*Methods@#The surveillance data on viral diarrhea among children under 5 years of age in Shaoxing City from 2019 to 2022 were collected, including demographics and stool testing results. The epidemiological and etiological characteristics of viral diarrhea were analyzed using a descriptive epidemiological method. @*Results@#A total of 763 diarrheal children under 5 years of age were reported in Shaoxing City from 2019 to 2022, and 236 children were tested positive for virus (30.93%). The detection of virus was 49.01%, 31.61%, 20.43% and 21.89% from 2019 to 2022, which appeared an overall tendency towards a decline (P<0.05). The incidence of viral diarrhea peaked from November to March of the next year and from May to July, and the detection of virus was lower among children with diarrhea living in urban areas (Yuecheng District, Keqiao District and Shangyu District) than among those in suburb areas (Zhuji City, Shengzhou City and Xinchang County) (30.22% vs. 52.00%, P<0.05). There were 206 children tested positive for a single virus, and the detection rates of rotavirus (RV), enteric adenovirus (EAdV), norovirus (NoV), and sapovirus (SaV) were 9.57%, 8.91%, 8.39%, and 0.13%, respectively. There were 25 children with virus co-infections, and the positive rates of EAdV and NoV, RV and EAdV and RV and NoV co-infections were 1.31%, 1.18% and 0.79%, respectively. There were 5 children with triple infections of RV, EAdV and NoV (0.66%). The highest detection of EAdV was seen in April, the highest detection of RV and NoV was seen in January, while SaV was only detected in April. @*Conclusion@#The incidence of viral diarrhea among children under 5 years of age peaked in winter and spring in Shaoxing City from 2019 to 2022, and the cases predominantly occurred in urban areas. The detection of virus appeared an overall tendency towards a decline, with high detection of RV, EAdV and NoV.