Abstract
ObjectivesViral infections caused by human bocaviruses 1–4 (HBoV1-4) are more complicated than previously believed. A retrospective, large-scale study was undertaken to explore the prevalence of HBoV1-4 in pediatric patients with various infectious diseases and delineate their phylogenetic characteristics.MethodsClinical samples from four specimen types, including 4,941 respiratory, 2,239 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), 2,619 serum, and 1,121 fecal specimens, collected from pediatric patients with various infectious diseases were screened for HBoV1-4. A 690-nt fragment in each specimen was then amplified and sequenced for phylogenetic analysis. Clinical characteristics of HBoV-positive patients with different specimen types available were evaluated.ResultsApproximately 1.2% of patients were confirmed as HBoV-positive, with the highest positive rate in patients with gastrointestinal infection (2.2%), followed by respiratory (1.65%), central nervous system (0.8%), and hematological infections (0.2%). A single genetic lineage of HBoV1 circulated among children over the 8-year period, while a new cluster of HBoV2, via intra-genotype recombination between HBoV2A and HBoV2B, was prevalent. Some patients had HBoV1-positive respiratory and serum specimens or fecal specimens. Several cases became HBoV1-positive following the appearance of respiratory infection, while several cases were positive for HBoV2 only in CSF and serum specimens, rather than respiratory specimens.ConclusionsA single genetic lineage of HBoV1 is speculated as a viral pathogen of respiratory infection and causes both comorbid infection and acute gastroenteritis. Additionally, a new cluster of HBoV2 is prevalent in China, which may infect the host through sites other than the respiratory tract.
Highlights
Since its discovery in nasopharyngeal secretions of children with respiratory tract infections in 2005 by Allander et al [1], human bocavirus (HBoV) has been suggested as a viral pathogen associated with respiratory infections with incidences ranging from 0.8% to 33% in children
Clinical samples from four specimen types, including 4,941 respiratory, 2,239 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), 2,619 serum, and 1,121 fecal specimens, collected from pediatric patients with various infectious diseases were screened for human bocaviruses 1–4 (HBoV1-4)
1.2% of patients were confirmed as HBoV-positive, with the highest positive rate in patients with gastrointestinal infection (2.2%), followed by respiratory (1.65%), central nervous system (0.8%), and hematological infections (0.2%)
Summary
Since its discovery in nasopharyngeal secretions of children with respiratory tract infections in 2005 by Allander et al [1], human bocavirus (HBoV) has been suggested as a viral pathogen associated with respiratory infections with incidences ranging from 0.8% to 33% in children. HBoV infection is frequently observed in children with pneumonia, acute wheezing, asthma, or bronchiolitis [2,3,4,5,6,7,8], and sometimes in life-threatening lower respiratory infections [9,10]. HBoV (family Parvoviridae, subfamily Parvovirinae, genus Bocaparvovirus) is a small, nonenveloped virus. It contains a single-stranded DNA of about 5.3 kb with three open reading frames, which encode two non-structural proteins, NS1 and NP1, and two capsid proteins, VP1 and VP2 [15]
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