Key result
Rhinovirus C is linked to higher viral loads and more expectoration than rhinovirus A in children.
Why the study?
Human rhinovirus is a major cause of acute respiratory tract disease in infants and young children, but its epidemiological, phylogenetic, and subtype-specific clinical characteristics in Guangzhou, China needed clarification.
Observational (n=655)
No
p-value: p=0.0148
HRV-C is a major circulating strain in southern China and is associated with higher viral loads and potentially more severe clinical symptoms than HRV-A in children with acute respiratory infections.
HRV-C may signal higher symptom burden in pediatric ARI; leaves open whether strain-specific management improves outcomes.
Background Human rhinovirus (HRV) is one of the major viruses of acute respiratory tract disease among infants and young children. This work aimed to understand the epidemiological and phylogenetic features of HRV in Guangzhou, China. In addition, the clinical characteristics of hospitalized children infected with different subtype of HRV was investigated. Methods Hospitalized children aged < 14 years old with acute respiratory tract infections were enrolled from August 2018 to December 2019. HRV was screened for by a real-time reverse-transcription PCR targeting the viral 5′UTR. Results HRV was detected in 6.41% of the 655 specimens. HRV infection was frequently observed in children under 2 years old (57.13%). HRV-A and HRV-C were detected in 18 (45%) and 22 (55%) specimens. All 40 HRV strains detected were classified into 29 genotypes. The molecular evolutionary rate of HRV-C was estimated to be 3.34 × 10 –3 substitutions/site/year and was faster than HRV-A (7.79 × 10 –4 substitutions/site/year). Children who experienced rhinorrhoea were more common in the HRV-C infection patients than HRV-A. The viral load was higher in HRV-C detection group than HRV-A detection group ( p = 0.0148). The median peak symptom score was higher in patients with HRV-C infection as compared to HRV-A ( p = 0.0543), even though the difference did not significance. Conclusion This study revealed the molecular epidemiological characteristics of HRV in patients with respiratory infections in southern China. Children infected with HRV-C caused more severe disease characteristics than HRV-A, which might be connected with higher viral load in patients infected with HRV-C. These findings will provide valuable information for the pathogenic mechanism and treatment of HRV infection.
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Li et al. (2021) conducted an observational in Severe acute respiratory tract infection (n=655). HRV-C infection vs. HRV-A infection was evaluated on Viral load (Ct value) (p=0.0148). Children infected with human rhinovirus C had significantly higher viral loads (p = 0.0148) and more frequent expectoration compared to those infected with human rhinovirus A.
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