Human Adenoviruses in Paediatric Patients With Respiratory Tract Infections in Beijing, China

Abstract Background: Human adenoviruse (HAdV) is a major pathogen of paediatric respiratory tract infections (RTIs). We described the epidemiology and genotypic diversity of HAdV in hospitalized children with RTIs in Beijing, China.Methods: Nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected from hospitalized children with RTIs from April 2018 to March 2019. HAdVs were detected by a quantitative real-time PCR, and the hexon gene was used for phylogenetic analysis. Results: Among 1,572 samples, 90 (5.72%) were HAdV-positive. The HAdV detection rate was highest in November and July. Among HAdV-positive children, 61.11% (55/90) were co-infected with other respiratory viruses, the most common of which were human respiratory syncytial virus and human rhinovirus. The main diagnosis was bronchopneumonia, most patient have cough and fever. Children with a high viral load were more likely to have a high fever (P=0.041) and elevated WBC count (P=0.000). Of 55 HAdV-positive specimens, HAdV-B (63.64%), HAdV-C (27.27%), and HAdV-E (9.09%) were main epidemic subtypes. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that hexon sequences of three samples were on the same branch with the recombinant HAdV strain (CBJ113), which was circulating in Beijing since 2016. Conclusion: The HAdV-B3 and HAdV-B7 are the main epidemic strains in Beijing, and the recombinant HAdV-C strain CBJ113 has formed an epidemic trend.