Molecular epidemiology and phylogenetic analyses of human adenovirus in pediatric patients with acute respiratory infections from Hangzhou during COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND: Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Human Adenovirus (HAdV), responsible for 5%–10% of children's ARIs, is one of the most prevalent pathogens. Our study aimed to analyze the epidemiology and phylogenesis of HAdV in pediatric patients with ARIs in Hangzhou during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: Between November 2020 and March 2021, we collected 1,442 nasopharyngeal swabs from children with ARIs at Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine. Epidemiological statistics, phylogenetic and amino acid (AA) mutation analysis were conducted. RESULTS: Our findings revealed that 386 (26.77%) samples tested positive for HAdV, with the highest rate in children aged 6–18 years and the lowest in children aged 0–1 year, indicating a different age preference of HAdV compared with pre-pandemic period. Outpatients had a significantly higher positive rate than inpatients. Moreover, patients with HAdV-coinfection exhibited more severe clinical symptoms than those with HAdV-single infection. Our phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that species HAdV-C (type 1, 2, 6) were the predominant circulating strains in Hangzhou during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further AA mutation analysis identified seventeen mutations of particular concern for biological characterization. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, our study provides valuable epidemiological and molecular data that will aid in epidemiological surveillance, antiviral therapies and the development of specific vaccine types, leading to improve public health.