Article ID: JJID.2022.097
Well-established surveillance and monitoring system for respiratory viruses need be improved and epidemiological data about respiratory viruses is scarce in China. This study aimed to investigate epidemiological characteristics of respiratory viruses among hospitalized children ≤ 2 years old with acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) in Xiamen, China from October 2014 to September 2017. The clinical records of 7248 children hospitalized for ARTIs were analyzed retrospectively. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) (22.3%) was the most common virus among hospitalized children ≤ 2 years old, followed by parainfluenza (5.0%), adenovirus (3.5%) and influenza (1.7%). RSV-infected children possessed a higher disease burden including higher ICU admission rate (12.7%) and hospital charges ($635.36). Especially, infants < 6 months of age had the highest risk of RSV infection (OR= 2.4, 95% CI: 1.9-2.9) and higher ICU admission rate (12.1% vs. 4.5%, 4.6%) and hospital costs ($923.3 vs. $785.5, $811.7) than other age groups. Therefore, infants aged 0-6 months, especially premature infants and children with congenital diseases, should receive more concern. There is an urgent need to develop effective immunization strategies to protect these infants through the first 6 months of life or RSV season.
