Prevalence of respiratory viruses in children in Northeast Brazil: the scenario before the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

ObjectiveTo investigate the prevalence of nine respiratory viruses and their clinical characteristics in children aged up to 5 years old in the state of Sergipe, Northeast of Brazil, in the pre-COVID-19 pandemic period. MethodsChildren with suspected influenza virus infection were included in the study. Clinical samples were screened using real-time qPCR for the diagnosis of AdV, PIV1, PIV2, PIV3 and hMPV. In addition, data were collected for FluA (H1N1 and H3N2), FluB and RSV. ResultsFrom January 2018 to December 2019, 1,081 samples were selected. Of these, 64.1% (n= 693) were positive for at least one of the nine screened respiratory viruses. The most prevalent etiologic agent in the study period was respiratory syncytial virus, detected in 31.8% (344/1,081) of cases, and the least prevalent was FluB, detected in 0.6% (6/1,081) of cases. Single infections were found in 85.5% (594/693) of the cases, while 14.4% (100/693) had coinfections. There was no correlation when comparing reported signs and symptoms with real-time qPCR positivity and the type of virus detected. The study highlights the importance of monitoring the etiological agents responsible for respiratory infections in children, before the COVID-19 pandemic.