Research progress of human bocavirus infection in children

Abstract

Human bocavirus is a novel pathogen first detected in respiratory tract samples in 2005. People of different ages can be infected by human bocavirus. Children are the susceptible population, especially the infants aged from 6-24 months old. The epidemic season varies in different regions due to the differences in climate and geographical location, and it mainly occurs in autumn and winter. It's demonstrated that human bocavirus-1 is closely related to respiratory system diseases and even causes life-threatening critical illness. Also, the severity of symptom is positively correlated with viral load. Co-infections between human bocavirus-1 and other viruses often present high frequency occurrence. Human bocavirus-1 interferes immune function of host by inhibiting interferon secrete pathway. Currently, it remains limited knowledge and understanding of the roles of human bocavirus 2-4 in diseases, but the gastrointestinal diseases should be paid more attention. Detection of human bocavirus DNA by traditional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay shouldn't be regarded as conclusive diagnostic basis. Instead, combined with mRNA and specific antigen detection, it is beneficial to improve the accuracy of diagnosis. Till now, the knowledge of human bocavirus remains poorly studied, which is deserved to further progress.