Epidemic characteristics of human rhinovirus acute low respiratory tract infection in children and the relationship between the infection and meteorological conditions in Suzhou
Objective:To explore the epidemiology of human rhinovirus (HRV) infection in children with acute low respiratory tract infection and its relationship with meteorological conditions in Suzhou. Methods: A total of 1 926 children with acute low respiratory tract infection were participated in the trial during January to December 2013,and the nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected for HRV detection with real time PCR. Meanwhile meteorological conditions including mean temperature, relative humidity, total month rainfall, sum of sunshine, and mean wind velocity were collected monthly during the same period. The relationship between the epidemic of HRV and meteorological conditions were analyzed by Spearman rank correlation analysis. Results: HRV was identified in 11.1% of 1 926 specimens,81.3% patients with HRV infection were younger than 3 years old;The prevalence of acute HRV infection was higher during summer and spring. HRV detection rate was positively correlated with the monthly mean temperature. Conclusion: HRV is a common pathogen in hospitalized children with lower respiratory tract infection in Suzhou. Meteorological factor,especially temperature may affect the prevalence of HRV.