Isolation and identification of Rhinovirus from throat swab samples of patients with acute respiratory infection in Bengbu, Anhui province

Abstract

Objective To isolate and identify human rhinovirus (HRV) from throat swab samples from patients with acute respiratory infection in Anhui Bengbu. Methods The throat swab specimens from 108 patients with acute upper respiratory tract infection diagnosed in the Anhui Bengbu were selected as samples. RNA was extracted and detected by HRV universal primers; H1-Hela cells were infected with the positive samples for virus isolation, and HRV VP1 gene amplification was performed and gene phylogenetic tree analysis of the successfully isolated HRV strains was done. Results Only 5 samples were positive for HRV by the real-time PCR, and only one sample showed significant cytopathic effects after three passages of H1-Hela cells were infected, and the HRV VP1 gene was amplified by RT-PCR in the sample that was named TYZQ201901. The sequence analysis showed that the VP1 nucleotide homology of the strain with other representative HRV A strains was over 95%. The gene phylogenetic tree analysis showed that the strain had the closest genetic distance to the RMH127/2013 strain, and both were on a branch and was confirmed to be HRV type A virus. Conclusions An HRV type A strain virus was isolated from throat swab samples from patients with acute respiratory infection in Anhui Province by the H1-Hela cells, and the HRV virus separation technology system were initially established. Key words: Acute respiratory infection; Throat swab; Rhinovirus