MULTIPLEX RT-PCR BASED DETECTION OF HUMAN BOCAVIRUS AND OTHER RESPIRATORY VIRUSES IN INFANTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN WITH LOWER RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTION

Background: Human Bocavirus (hBoV) has recently been identified as a causative agent of acute respiratory infection (ARI) in infant and young children. However, there is little information about its frequency and importance as a cause of lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) in Iraq.
Objective:To assess the frequency of hBoV and co-infection rate in infants and young children with LRTI.
Methods: Nasopharyngeal/throat swabs were collected during the peak winter months from 100 hospitalized infants and young children less than 5 years of age with LRTI in Baghdad, Iraq. Five viruses were investigated by Multiplex Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR).
Results: It was found that 71 (71%) had a viral infection either single or mixed. Six out of 100 samples (6%) were hBoV positive, 10 (10%) were parainfluenza virus positive, 12 (12%) tested positive for adenovirus, 58 (58%) were rhinovirus positive and none of the samples gave positive results for coronavirus. Sixteen samples showed mixed infection with rhinovirus, eight of these (8%) with parainfluenza virus, 6 (6%) with adenovirus, and 2 (2%) with hBoV. There were no significant differences between the viral infected and non-infected patients with respect to age, gender, crowding status, gestational age, diagnosis at presenting and hospital stay (the average stay of viral-infected patients in the hospital was three days). In contrast, exposure to smoking was significantly more associated with viral-infected children than virus-free children (80% vs. 44.83%, P<0.001). In addition, viral-infected children showed significantly less proportion for need for intensive care unit than virus-free children (15.5% vs. 79.31%, P<0.001). Breastfeeding was found to have significant adverse association with viral infection (P<0.001). About one-third of viral-infected children had a medical history involving a disease other than respiratory infection (P<0.001). Finally, viral-infected children were reported to have longer period of illness before hospital admission (6.32±5.49 days) than virus-free children (6.32±5.49 days vs. 3.38±2.37 days, P<0.01).
Conclusion: More than two third of children with respiratory tract infection have been viral infection either single or mixed. Multiplex RT-PCR has the potential for clinical use in the rapid and differential detection of viral infection.
Keywords: Viral respiratory tract infection, Children, Multiplex Real Time PCR
Citation: Rasheed ZS, Al-Shuwaikh AMA, Issa KR. Multiplex RT-PCR based detection of Human Bocavirus and other respiratory viruses in infants and young children with lower respiratory tract infection. Iraqi JMS. 2019; 17(1): 74-82. doi: 10.22578/IJMS.17.1.11