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Incidence and Seasonality of Respiratory Viruses Causing Acute Respiratory Infections in the Northern United Arab Emirates

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  • Incidence and Seasonality of Respiratory Viruses Causing Acute Respiratory Infections in the Northern United Arab Emirates

    J Med Virol. 2019 Mar 22. doi: 10.1002/jmv.25464. [Epub ahead of print]
    Incidence and Seasonality of Respiratory Viruses Causing Acute Respiratory Infections in the Northern United Arab Emirates.

    Jeon JH1,2, Han M3,2, Chang HE3,2, Park SS4,2, Lee JW5,2, Ahn YJ4,2, Hong DJ3,2.
    Author information

    Abstract

    BACKGROUND:

    Data on the seasonality of respiratory viruses helps to ensure that vaccinations can be timed optimally and that possible variant outbreaks can be monitored.
    OBJECTIVES:

    We designed our study to describe the molecular epidemiology and seasonality of acute respiratory infection (ARI)-related respiratory viruses in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
    METHODS:

    We collected both upper and lower respiratory specimens for analysis from all patients who visited the Sheikh Khalifa Specialty Hospital (SKSH) with ARI for over 2 years. The multiplex real-time reverse transcription PCR (rRT-PCR) test was used to detect respiratory viruses such as human adenovirus, influenza virus (FLU) A and B, respiratory syncytial virus, parainfluenza viruses, human rhinovirus, human metapneumovirus, human enterovirus, human coronavirus, and human bocavirus.
    RESULTS:

    We collected 1362 respiratory samples from 733 (53.8%) male and 629 (46.2%) female ARI patients who visited the SKSH between November 2015 and February 2018. The rRT-PCR test revealed an overall positivity rate of 37.2% (507/1362). The positive rate increased during winter; it was highest in December and lowest in September. FLU was the most frequently detected virus (273/1362 [20.0%]), followed by human rhinovirus (146/1362 [10.7%]). The FLU positivity rate showed two peaks, which occurred in August and December. The peak-to-low ratio for FLU was 2.26 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.52-3.35).
    CONCLUSIONS:

    The pattern of FLU in the UAE parallels to that of temperate countries. The trend of small peak of FLU in the summer suggests that a semi-seasonal pattern is possible in the UAE. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
    This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


    KEYWORDS:

    human; influenza; molecular epidemiology; respiratory tract infections; seasons; united arab emirates

    PMID: 30900750 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.25464
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