Detection of human bocavirus from children and adults with acute respiratory tract illness in Guangzhou, southern China

Rong Zhou,Sheng Qin,Huan-Xi Liang,Qian Liu,Zi-Feng Yang,De-Hui Chen,Wen-Kuan Liu

doi:10.1186/1471-2334-11-345

Abstract

BackgroundHuman bocavirus (HBoV) is a newly discovered parvovirus associated with acute respiratory tract illness (ARTI) and gastrointestinal illness. Our study is the first to analyze the characteristics of HBoV-positive samples from ARTI patients with a wide age distribution from Guangzhou, southern China.MethodsThroat swabs (n=2811) were collected and analyzed from children and adults with ARTI over a 13-month period. The HBoV complete genome from a 60 year-old female patient isolate was also determined.ResultsHBoV DNA was detected in 65/2811 (2.3%) samples, of which 61/1797 were from children (<18 years old) and 4/1014 from adults (≥18 years old). Seasonal peaks of 4.8% and 7.7% were detected in May and June, respectively. 28 of 65 (43.1%) HBoV-positive samples were co-detected with 11/16 other potential pathogens. Mycoplasma pneumoniae had the highest frequency of 16.9% (11/65). Upper and lower respiratory tract illness were common symptoms, with 19/65 (29.2%) patients diagnosed with pneumonia by chest radiography. All four adult patients had systemic influenza-like symptoms. Phylogenetic analysis of the complete genome revealed a close relationship with other HBoVs, and a more distant relationship with HBoV2 and HBoV3.ConclusionsHBoV was detected from children and adults with ARTI from Guangzhou, southern China. Elderly people were also susceptive to HBoV. A single lineage of HBoV was detected among a wide age distribution of patients with ARTI.

Highlights

Human bocavirus (HBoV) is a newly discovered parvovirus associated with acute respiratory tract illness (ARTI) and gastrointestinal illness
HBoV was reported in respiratory samples from different countries and regions worldwide [9,10,11,12,13,14], where HBoV was detected in 1.5%-8.3% of respiratory samples from individuals with acute respiratory tract illness (ARTI), especially young children and infants
Detection of HBoV from patients with ARTI HBoV deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) positive samples were detected in 65/2811 patients with a total positive rate of 2.3%

Summary

Introduction

Human bocavirus (HBoV) is a newly discovered parvovirus associated with acute respiratory tract illness (ARTI) and gastrointestinal illness. In 2005, Allander et al [8] reported a previously undescribed human parvovirus, human bocavirus (HBoV) that belongs to the genus Bocavirus, in respiratory secretions of children with respiratory tract disease in Sweden. The virus was found in stool samples from patients with gastrointestinal illness [15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22]. These reports suggest that HBoV might be associated with upper and lower respiratory disease and gastrointestinal illness throughout the world. In 2009, two viruses closely related to HBoV, named HBoV2 [23] and HBoV3 [24], were found in stool samples, and suggested HBoV diversity

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Conclusion