The Epidemiology of Circulating Respiratory Pathogens During the COVID-19 Pandemic

抄録

Objective To survey the epidemiology of respiratory pathogens during the COVID-19 pandemic using multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Methods Specimens were assayed using multiplex nested PCR.

Patients and Materials Specimens were obtained from outpatients who presented with symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection and asymptomatic outpatients who had contact with patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection at Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University Hospital in Sendai, Japan, from November 1, 2020, to May 31, 2023. The analysis included multiple specimens collected from the same patients at different time-points. Data were collected from the electronic records after testing.

Results This study included 8,335 patients (4,311 men) with a median age of 59 years old, and 11,741 total specimens were collected. At least 1 positive SARS-CoV-2 result was obtained for 1,710 (14.6%) specimens. Furthermore, 15 pathogens were identified in the positive specimens, and rhinovirus/enterovirus was detected more frequently than other viruses. We identified a larger number of SARS-CoV-2-positive specimens in patients ≥10 years old. In contrast, in patients 0-9 years old, we identified a larger number of specimens positive for rhinovirus/enterovirus than for other viruses.

Conclusions In this study, we examined the epidemiology of circulating respiratory pathogens during the COVID-19 pandemic era.