Medical Student Central Michigan University College of Medicine Tampa, Florida, United States
Background: Mitigation measures during the COVID-19 pandemic have affected the regular circulation and prevalence of respiratory viruses in children. Initially, COVID-19 caused an unprecedented reduction in respiratory illnesses including those due to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza. This pattern shift is expected to differ in extent, seasonality, and duration among different pathogens as the pandemic evolves.
Objective: To assess change in patterns of respiratory viruses circulating in the community during the COVID-19 pandemic among pediatric patients (ages 0-18) at a university hospital in Tampa, Florida.
Design/Methods: A retrospective analysis of the prevalence of respiratory pathogens was performed using the results of Biofire® Respiratory Panel among pediatric patients from January 2019 to December 2021. A total of 1,721 specimens from 1,557 patients were collected. The absolute detection rates of the included 19 respiratory pathogens were analyzed. Prevalence of these was analyzed by age group, gender, calendar year, season, co-infections, and initial clinical presentation.
Results: Of the total 1,721 PCR tests conducted, 39.7% of specimens were positive for at least one pathogen. Of these, 66.2% were obtained in the emergency department, 19.0% on the hospital floor, and 13.9% in clinic. Rhinovirus/enterovirus were the most prevalent viral pathogens isolated in all study periods representing: 31.7%, 59.2% and 50.9% in 2019, 2020, 2021 respectively. Influenza viruses including A (14%) and B (14.7%) were second in prevalence in 2019 with influenza A decreasing to 7.3% in 2020 and 6.0% in 2021. RSV represented 7.9% in 2019, 1.8% in 2020 and 7.6% in 2021. SARS-COV-2 was the second most common virus in samples collected in 2021 among children 13 years and older but it only accounted for 14.6% of all samples that year. SARS-CoV-2 co-infections were infrequent in our cohort with only 5 cases identified. Conclusion(s): Rhinovirus/enterovirus continued to be the most prevalent viral pathogen isolated regardless of mitigation efforts and changes by the COVID-19 pandemic. Use of masks, social distancing, remote work/learning affected circulation of other viruses such as influenza and RSV. Continuous surveillance of these circulation patterns remains important due to its impact on clinical practice. cv 1_7_2022.pdf
