Severe human parechovirus infections in infants and the role of older siblings

Abstract

Human parechovirus (HPeV) is a cause of severe morbidity among infants and young children. To evaluate the associations between early environmental risk factors and HPeV infections, we carried out a nationwide cohort study linking registry data on birth and sibship characteristics with a laboratory surveillance database, covering all HPeV infections detected in Denmark during 2009-2012 among children <5 years of age. Incidence rate ratios were calculated in log-linear Poisson regression analyses. Overall, 133 HPeV infections, 85 caused by human parechovirus type 3 (HPeV-3) and 48 by human parechovirus other than type 3 (non-HPeV-3), were detected among 132 children. Neither birth weight, mode of delivery, Apgar score, nor gestational age was associated with the risk of HPeV infections. Compared with firstborn children, secondborn children were at a 9-fold increased risk (incidence rate ratio = 8.68, 95% confidence interval: 3.85, 19.53) of contracting HPeV-3 infections, but at no increased risk of contracting non-HPeV-3 infections. However, the shorter the age gap to the nearest older sibling, the higher the risk of HPeV-3 as well as non-HPeV-3 infections, although the trend was strongest for HPeV-3 infections. Our study is the first to suggest that having a slightly older sibling increases the risk for severe neonatal HPeV infections. This new knowledge might lead to new preventive measures.