Study on pathogen spectrum of 1,046 hospitalized children with respiratory tract infections during COVID-19

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to describe the pathogen spectrum of bacteria and viruses of RTIs in hospitalized children during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic in Shenzhen. Methods: From October 2020 to October 2021, the results of pathogenic tests causing RTIs were retrospectively analyzed in hospitalized children in Shenzhen Luohu Hospital Group. Results: 829 sputum samples for bacterial isolation and 1,037 nasopharyngeal swabs for virus detection in total. The positive detection rate (PDR) of bacteria was 42.1%. Staphylococcus aureus (18.8%) was the predominant bacteria detected in positive cases, with Moraxella catarrhalis (10.9%), Streptococcus pneumoniae (9.5%) following. The PDR of the virus was 65.6%. The viruses ranking first to third were Human Rhinovirus (HRV), Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and Human Parainfluenza (HPIV), with rates of 28.0, 18.1, and 13.5%, respectively. Children under 3 years were the most susceptible population to RTIs. The pathogens of S. aureus, M. catarrhalis, S. pneumoniae, HRV, and HPIV were more prevalent in autumn. Meanwhile, RSV had a high rate of infection in summer and autumn. S. aureus and HRV had higher co-infection rates. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate the pathogen spectrum of 1,046 hospitalized children with RTIs in Shenzhen, China, during the COVID-19 outbreak.