Typical epidemiology of respiratory virus infections in a Brazilian slum

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J Med Virol. 2019 Nov 26. doi: 10.1002/jmv.25636. [Epub ahead of print] Typical epidemiology of respiratory virus infections in a Brazilian slum.

G?es LGB^1,2, Zerbinati RM³, Tateno AF³, de Souza AV⁴, Ebach F³, Corman VM^1,5, Moreira-Filho CA⁶, Durigon EL², Ribeiro Ferreira da Silva Filho LV^4,7, Drexler JF^1,5,8.
Author information

1 Institute of Virology, Charit?-Universit?tsmedizin Berlin, corporate Member of Freie Universit?t Berlin, Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany. 2 Laborat?rio de Virologia Cl?nica e Molecular, Departamento de Microbiologia - ICB-II, Universidade de S?o Paulo, S?o Paulo, Brazil. 3 Institute of Virology, University of Bonn Medical Center, Bonn, Germany. 4 Instituto de Ensino e Pesquisa, Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, S?o Paulo, Brazil. 5 German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), associated partner site Charit?, Berlin, Germany. 6 Departmento de Pediatria, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de S?o Paulo, S?o Paulo, Brazil. 7 Instituto da Crian?a, Hospital das Cl?nicas da FMUSP, S?o Paulo, Brazil. 8 Martsinovsky Institute of Medical Parasitology, Tropical and Vector-Borne Diseases, Sechenov University, Moscow, Russia.

Abstract

Host population size, density, immune status, age structure and contact rates are critical elements of virus epidemiology. Slum populations may stand out from other settings and present differences in the epidemiology of acute viral infections. We collected nasopharyngeal specimens from 282 children aged ≤5 years with acute respiratory tract infection (ARI) during 2005-2006 in one of the largest Brazilian slums. We conducted real-time RT-PCR for 16 respiratory viruses, nested RT-PCR-based typing of rhinoviruses (HRV), and collected clinical symptoms. Viruses were common causes of respiratory disease; with ≥1 virus being detected in 65.2% of patients. We detected 15 different viruses during one year with a predominance of HRV (33.0%) and human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV, 12.1%) infections, and a high rate of viral co-infections (28.3%). We observed seasonality of hRSV, HRV and human coronavirus infections, more severe symptoms in hRSV and Influenza virus (FLU) infections and prolonged circulation of seven HRV clusters likely representing distinct serotypes according to genomic sequence distances. Potentially unusual findings included absence of human metapneumovirus detections and lack of typical FLU seasonal patterns, which may be linked to the population size and density of the slum. Nonetheless, most epidemiological patterns were similar to other studies globally, suggesting surprising similarities of virus-associated ARI across highly diverse settings and differential impact of population characteristics on respiratory virus epidemiology. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


KEYWORDS:

Acute Respiratory Infection; Brazil; Epidemiology; Real Time PCR, Polymerase Chain Reaction; Respiratory Tract Infections; Slum; Viruses

PMID: 31769524 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.25636