ABSTRACT
AIM: The objectives of this study are to assess the frequency of human bocavirus (HBoV) infection in hospitalised children and to study the clinical symptoms associated with the detection of HBoV. METHODS: Two groups of hospitalised children were included in this study: group 1 consisted of 1946 children hospitalised from 1st September 2004 to 30th May 2005, and group 2 consisted of 448 children hospitalised from 1st November 2003 to 30th March 2004. The respiratory specimens were tested by polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: In the first group, HBoV was detected by polymerise chain reaction in 11/828 (1.3%) of nasal specimens that tested negative for other respiratory viruses. One child tested positive for HBoV in both a nasal aspirate and stool sample. In the second group, nasal specimens were tested for all respiratory viruses, including HBoV. The presence of HBoV infection was detected in seven children (1.6%). Detection of a mixed viral population was observed in four of these children. The main symptoms in children infected with HBoV were rhinitis (50%), cough (45%), dyspnoea (28%), wheezing (28%), fever (23%) and diarrhoea (22%). The final clinical diagnoses were bronchiolitis (seven children), rhinopharyngitis (five children), the exacerbation of asthma (two children) and pneumonia (one child). Moreover, four children have associated gastroenteritis. CONCLUSION: These results contribute to the interest in the HBoV detection in children. HBoV detection in hospitalised children with or without any other respiratory virus detection was essentially associated with lower respiratory tract infection and in a lower score with upper respiratory tract infection and gastroenteritis.
Subject(s)
Bocavirus/isolation & purification , Hospitalization , Parvoviridae Infections , Base Sequence , Bocavirus/genetics , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Infant , Male , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Respiratory Tract Infections/diagnosis , Respiratory Tract Infections/physiopathology , Sequence AnalysisABSTRACT
We developed a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect human metapneumovirus (hMPV) in French children hospitalized for acute respiratory tract disease during the winter of 2001 to 2002. This assay showed that 19 (6.6%) of 337 respiratory specimens that were negative for other respiratory viruses were positive for hMPV. Seven hMPV infections were also detected in the previous winter. The patients had the following clinical syndromes: bronchiolitis, 16; acute exacerbation of asthma, 4; bronchitis, 1; laryngitis, 1; high fever with diarrhea, 2; high fever with rhinopharyngitis, 1; rhinopharyngitis with conjunctivitis and otitis, 1. The sequences of the seven amplified products were similar for all cases and had 99% homology with the previously described N gene sequence.
