OBJECTIVE: To comprehensively examine the molecular epidemiological characteristics of human rhinovirus (HRV) in Beijing. METHODS: A total of 7,151 children and adults with acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) were recruited from 35 sentinel hospitals in Beijing between 2018 and 2022. Their respiratory samples were obtained, and epidemiological and clinical data were collected. Nucleic acid testing for 11 respiratory pathogens, including HRV, was performed on the specimens. We sequenced VP4/VP2 or 5'UTR of HRV isolates to identify their genotypes using phylogenetic analyses. RESULTS: HRV was detected in 462 (6.5%) cases. A total of 105 HRV genotypes were successfully identified in 359 (77.7%) specimens, comprising 247 (68.8%) with HRV-A, 42 (11.7%) with HRV-B, and 70 (19.5%) with HRV-C. No predominant genotype was observed. HRV was prevalent year-round with two weak peaks in spring and autumn. HRV detection declined gradually between 2018 and 2022, with seven genotypes disappearing and five genotypes emerging. HRV detection rate decreased by age without resurge among old people. HRV-C was more common among children aged less than 5 years with severe community-acquired pneumonia compared to HRV-A and HRV-B. Adults infected with HRV-B had higher rates of hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, and complications than those infected with HRV-A and HRV-C. CONCLUSION HRV epidemics in Beijing were highly dispersed in genotypes, which probably resulted in a high prevalence of HRV infection, attenuated its seasonality, and made it more difficult to establish effective population immunity.
Humans ; Rhinovirus/classification* ; Beijing/epidemiology* ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Adult ; Genotype ; Male ; Adolescent ; Picornaviridae Infections/virology* ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Infant ; Retrospective Studies ; Young Adult ; Prevalence ; Aged ; Respiratory Tract Infections/epidemiology* ; Phylogeny ; Genetic Variation

Human rhinoviruses (HRVs) are responsible for many of the characteristic symptoms of the common cold, such as a sore throat, runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, and coughing. However, despite the high detection rate in children, most HRV infections are asymptomatic. As a result, these viruses are generally ignored, even though a close association between HRV infections in early life and the subsequent induction of asthma has been reported. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct further research into HRV diagnostics, treatments, epidemiology, and vaccines. This review describes recent studies of HRVs, including their genomic diversity, surveillance systems, taxonomy, and immune responses, as well as vaccines.
Asthma ; Child ; Classification ; Common Cold ; Cough ; Epidemiology ; Estrogens, Conjugated (USP) ; Humans* ; Nose ; Pharyngitis ; Rhinovirus* ; Sneezing ; Vaccines

Human rhinoviruses (HRVs) are responsible for many of the characteristic symptoms of the common cold, such as a sore throat, runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, and coughing. However, despite the high detection rate in children, most HRV infections are asymptomatic. As a result, these viruses are generally ignored, even though a close association between HRV infections in early life and the subsequent induction of asthma has been reported. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct further research into HRV diagnostics, treatments, epidemiology, and vaccines. This review describes recent studies of HRVs, including their genomic diversity, surveillance systems, taxonomy, and immune responses, as well as vaccines.
Asthma ; Child ; Classification ; Common Cold ; Cough ; Epidemiology ; Estrogens, Conjugated (USP) ; Humans* ; Nose ; Pharyngitis ; Rhinovirus* ; Sneezing ; Vaccines

OBJECTIVETo investigate the detection rates, epidemical characteristics, and clinical features of human rhinovirus C (HRV-C) in hospitalized children with respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in Suzhou, China.

METHODSA total of 1 702 hospitalized children with RTIs from January to December, 2014 were enrolled, and 1 702 nasopharyngeal aspirate samples were collected from all children. RT-PCR was used to measure HRV mRNA, and quantitative real-time PCR combined with high-resolution melting curve was used to measure HRV-C.

RESULTSOf all children, 244 (14.34%) were detected to have HRV infection, among whom 69 (69/244, 28.3%) had HRV-C infection. The rate of mixed infection of HRV-C with other viruses and bacteria was 61% (42/69). HRV-C was detected in each month of the year, and the detection rate of HRV-C in autumn was significantly higher than that in spring, summer, and winter (P<0.05). The children aged 2-5 years had a significantly higher detection rate of HRV-C than those in the other age groups (P<0.05). Compared with HRV-A/B infection, HRV-C infection led to significantly higher proportions of patients with lobar pneumonia and acute exacerbation of asthma (P<0.05), as well as patients with increased neutrophil count and CRP level (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in sex distribution or other clinical manifestations (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONSHRV-C infection accounts for about 1/3 of HRV infection, with a high incidence rate in autumn. The rate of mixed infection of HRV-C with other viruses and bacteria is high, and children aged 2-5 years have the highest detection rate of HRV-C. Children with HRV-C infection have similar clinical manifestations as those with HRV-A/B infection.

Child ; Child, Hospitalized ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; virology ; Rhinovirus ; classification ; isolation & purification ; Seasons

OBJECTIVETo understand the clinical characteristics of different groups human rhinovirus (HRV)-A, B and C infection in children with acute respiratory tract infections (ARI) in Beijing.

METHODRespiratory tract specimens (n = 1412) collected from children with ARI during Jan. 2011 to Dec. 2012 were tested for HRV by using semi-nested PCR. Gene fragments of VP4/VP2 capsid protein amplified from HRV positive specimens were sequenced for HRV genotype confirmation. Then epidemiological characteristics of these HRV-positive cases were analyzed.

RESULTAmong these 1412 specimens tested, 103 (7.3%) were HRV positive, including 54 (52.4%) positive for HRV-A, 14 (13.6%) for HRV-B, 35 (34.0%) for HRV-C determined by sequence analysis. The positive rates of HRV-A, B and C (2.5%, 16/638; 0.3%, 2/638 and 1.3%, 8/638) in children with acute upper respiratory tract infections (URI) were lower than those (5.8%, 36/623; 1.8%, 11/623 and 3.9%, 24/623) in children with acute lower respiratory tract infections (LRI) (P = 0.003, 0.011, 0.003). In children with LRI, the positive rates of HRV-A, C were similar to each other (P = 0.112), and both were higher than that of HRV-B (P = 0.000, P = 0.026). The severity of ARI among children positive for different groups HRV showed no significant difference evaluated by Kruskal-Wallis H test (Hc = 0.044, P > 0.05), as well as that between children co-infected with HRV and other viruses and those infected with HRV only evaluated by Wilcoxon rank sum test (Zc = 0.872, P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONHRV is one of important pathogens for children with ARI, especially LRI in Beijing. The positive rates of HRV-A and HRV-C are similar to each other, and both are higher than that of HRV-B. No significant difference was shown among children with different HRV genotypes by evaluation of the severity of ARI, and co-infections of HRV with other viruses do not significantly increase the severity of ARI.

Acute Disease ; Adolescent ; Age Distribution ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Phylogeny ; Picornaviridae Infections ; epidemiology ; virology ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; epidemiology ; virology ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Rhinovirus ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Sequence Analysis, RNA ; Severity of Illness Index

To understand the infections and molecular biological characteristics of different human rhinovirus (HRV) genotypes -A, B, C, especially C in children with acute respiratory tract infections (ARI) in Beijing. Seven hundreds and three respiratory tract specimens were collected from children with ARI during Jan. 2011 to Dec. 2011. Semi-nested PCR was developed for detecting HRVs. Gene fragment of VP4/VP2 capsid protein amplified from HRV positive specimens was sequenced and analyzed by software DNAStar, the phylogenetic tree was then constructed by MEGA 5. 05. Among these 703 specimens tested, 54 (7.7%, 54/703) were HRV positive, including 25 (46.3%, 25/54) positive for HRV-A, 8 (14. 8%, 8/54) for HRV-B, 21 (38. 9%, 21/54) for HRV-C determined by sequence analysis. Most of these children (94. 4%00, 51/54) infected with HRVs were younger than 5 years old, and the highest positive rate was shown in group younger than 1 year (11. 4%). These patients positive for HRVs were diagnosed as bronchiolitis (23.1%), asthma (20.0%), pneumonia (1.0%), bronchitis (4.4%) and upper respiratory tract infections (4. 1%). Sequence analysis of VP4/VP2 gene fragment revealed that 70. 0% to 100. 0% nucleotide identity was shown among the sequences within the same HRV genotype, and 55. 5% to 65. 8% nucleotide identity among the sequences from different HRV genotypes. In conclusion, HRVs, especially HRV-C, are important pathogens for children with ARI in Beijing. The prevalence of HRV-C is similar to that of HRV-A, higher than that of HRV-B. High sequence variation among different HRV genotypes was indicated in this study.
Acute Disease ; epidemiology ; Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny ; Picornaviridae Infections ; epidemiology ; virology ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; epidemiology ; virology ; Rhinovirus ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Seasons ; Viral Proteins ; genetics

To study the epidemic characteristics of human rhinovirus (HRV) in children with acute respiratory infections in Gansu Province. 286 throat swabs were collected from children with acute respiratory in fections in Gansu Province during 2011. Multiplex reverse transcription-PCR (multiplex RT-PCR) assay was used to screen those specimens for detection of common respiratory tract pathogens. For HRV-positive samples, nested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (nested RT-PCR) was performed to amplify VP1 and VP4/VP2 gene fragments of HRV. The VP4/VP2 and VP1 regions of HRV-positive samples were sequenced and performed genotype analysis. Of 286 specimens fested, 27 were positive for HRV by multiplex RT-PCR and nested RT-PCR, of which 16 children were made (16/185), 8.64%) and 11 female (11/101,10.89%). The positive rate was 9.44% (27/286). The mean age of HRV-positive children was 3 years in this study, children less than one year old had the highest proportion 44.4% (12/ 27, 44.4%). The highest HRV positive rate fell on May, 2011 (6/27, 22.2%). Common cold accounted for the highest proportion, 12.24% (12/98) followed by pneumonia, 8.50% (13/153). The remaining 2 cases were bronchitis. Sequence analysis showed HRV A was the predominant genotype in Gansu Province in 2011, accounting for 84.62% (22/26) of positive cases, followed by HRV C (11.54%, 3/26) and only one HRV B was detected (3.85%, 1/26). HRV could be detected throughout the year in Gansu Province and primarily infected children under one year old. The group A was the epidemic genotype of HRV and move than one genotype existed in Gansu Province during 2011.
Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny ; Picornaviridae Infections ; epidemiology ; virology ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; epidemiology ; virology ; Rhinovirus ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Seasons

BACKGROUND: Direct antigen test (DAT) and culture are primary tests to diagnose infections by respiratory viruses, but are mainly available for the traditional viral pathogens such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza virus, parainfluenza virus (PIV), and adenovirus in clinical laboratories. The objective of this study was to evaluate a multiplex reverse transcriptase-PCR method using Seeplex(TM) RV Detection kit (Seegene, Korea) for the detection of rhinovirus, coronavirus, and human metapneumovirus (hMPV). METHODS: From January to May 2007, nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPAs) from pediatric patients negative for culture and DAT of traditional viral pathogens were tested with Seeplex(TM). All the amplicons were directly sequenced and homology of the sequences was searched in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database. Patients' medical records were reviewed for clinical and demographic features. RESULTS: Forty-seven (26.4%) of 178 NPAs were positive: 18 rhinovirus, 15 hMPV, 4 RSV A, 3 coronavirus OC43, 3 influenza virus A, 2 adenovirus, 1 coronavirus NL63, and 1 RSV B. Based on maximum identity, each of the sequences indicating rhinovirus, hMPV, and coronavirus OC43 matched to the corresponding viruses with homology of 94-98%, 96-99%, and 98-100%, respectively. Seeplex(TM) positive patients were 0-11 yr old with a male:female ratio of 1.5:1. Clinical diagnoses included 9 pneumonia, 6 bronchiolitis, 2 cold, 1 asthma exacerbation for rhinovirus; 10 pneumonia, 4 bronchiolitis, and 1 clinical sepsis for hPMV; and 1 pneumonia, 2 croup, and 1 cold for coronavirus. CONCLUSIONS: Multiplex reverse transcriptase-PCR method using Seeplex(TM) RV Detection kit is a reliable test to detect rhinovirus, hMPV, and coronavirus. It may improve the diagnostic sensitivity for RSV, influenza virus, PIV, and adenovirus.
Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Coronavirus/classification/*isolation & purification ; Coronavirus 229E, Human/classification/genetics/isolation & purification ; Coronavirus OC43, Human/classification/genetics/isolation & purification ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Metapneumovirus/classification/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Phylogeny ; Reagent Kits, Diagnostic ; Respiratory Tract Infections/*diagnosis/virology ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction/*methods ; Rhinovirus/classification/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Sequence Analysis, DNA

OBJECTIVETo understand the relationship between human rhinovirus (HRV) and acute respiratory infections in infants and young children in Beijing.

METHODSThroat swab/nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected from 3292 infants and young children with acute respiratory tract infections in Beijing from November 2002 to November 2006. Primers derived from the highly conserved 5'-noncoding region of human rhinovirus were used to detect HRV from clinical specimens by nested RT-PCR for which the sensitivity and specificity had been determined previously.

RESULTSOut of these 3292 specimens, 507 were (15.4%, 507/3292) HRV positive with RT-PCR method. HRV were detected from 220 out of 1315 outpatients and 287 out of 1977 inpatients with positive rates as 16.7% and 14.5% respectively. HRV was detected from 50.0% (8/16) of the patients with pharyngitis. Among 280 specimens collected from patients with acute bronchitis, 43 (15.4%) were HRV positive, including 14 from 80 patients with wheezy bronchitis (17.5%). High positive rates were also found in specimens from patients with pneumonia (12.6%, 150/1189), bronchiolitis (16.0%, 42/262) and asthma (12.8%, 10/78). In 53 patients with initial diagnosis as hematic disease or other complicate respiratory infections, 14 were HRV (26.4%, 14/53) positive. As for the seasonal distribution, HRV were detected in most of the months during thie period of research. The highest positive rate of HRV in each year fell in September (32.6%), February (24.2%) of 2004, February of 2005 (35.3%) and March (31.3%) from 2003 to 2006, respectively. Among these HRV positive patients, 44.8% were under 1 year of age (227/507), 15.4% (78/507) were 1 to 2 years old and 12.4% (63/507) were 2 to 3 years old.

CONCLUSIONHRV was associated with acute upper respiratory infections and lower respiratory infections including bronchitis, pneumonia and bronchiolitis in pediatric patients. Patients with lower immunity such as those with hematic diseases, were more susceptible to be infected by HRV. HRV could be detected in all age groups in this study, but the positive rates were decreasing with the increase of patients' age. Infants under 1 year of age seemed to be more likely to get HRV infection.

Acute Disease ; Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Picornaviridae Infections ; epidemiology ; virology ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; epidemiology ; virology ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Rhinovirus ; classification ; genetics ; pathogenicity ; Seasons