OBJECTIVETo study the clinical characteristics of human bocavirus (HBoV) infection in children.

METHODSNasal and throat swab samples were collected in 843 children with lower respiratory tract infection. The multiple RT-PCR method was used to detect HBoV and six other common respiratory tract viruses. The clinical characteristics of HboV positive cases were investigated.

RESULTSAmong 843 cases, 90 were HboV positive (10.7%), 131 were respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) positive (15.5%), 117 were influenza virus positive (13.9%), 84 were parainfluenza virus positive (10.0%), 55 were rhinovirus positive (6.5%), 48 were coronavirus positive (5.7%), and 33 were human metapneumovirus positive (3.7%). Of the 90 HBoV infected patients, 45 (50%) showed a co-infection with other respiratory tract viruses. Among them, 33 were infected with one other type of virus (37%), 11 (12%) were infected with two other types of virus, and 1 case (1%) was infected with other three viruses. The HBoV positive rate in children with wheezing was significantly higher than those without wheezing (17.0% vs 9.2%; P<0.01). The common clinical manifestations of HBoV-infected patients included frequent coughing, wheezing and fever. There were no significant differences in the frequency of wheezing between HBoV and RSV infected patients.

CONCLUSIONSHBoV positive rate detected from children with wheezing is higher than from children without wheezing, suggesting that apart from RSV, HBoV is another virus causing wheezing in children with respiratory tract infection. Co-infections of HBoV with other respiratory track viruses can be present in some patients.