Analysis of respiratory virus detection in hospitalized children with acute respiratory infection during the COVID-19 pandemic

OBJECTIVE: It is now understood that the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its associated containment measures have influenced the epidemiology of other respiratory viruses. This study aimed to characterize respiratory virus infections in pediatric patients hospitalized for acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in East China both prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: We collected nasal secretions from 9782 pediatric ARI patients admitted to Shaoxing Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital between January 2018 and December 2022. We analyzed and compared changes in viral detection rates, epidemiological features, and clinical characteristics. RESULTS: A total of 1633 strains from 7 common respiratory viruses were identified, with an overall positive rate of 16.35% (n = 821/5021) in 2018–2019 and 17.06% (n = 812/4761) in 2020–2022. Compared to 2018–2019, the positive rate for RSV significantly increased in 2020–2022, while detection rates for ADV, PIV-2, PIV-3, and flu-B showed reductions (P < 0.05). The RSV-positive rate experienced a more significant increase in winter compared to other seasons both before and during COVID-19 (P < 0.05), whereas PIV-3 predominantly circulated in spring and summer before COVID-19. CONCLUSION: During the COVID-19 pandemic, marked variations in age distribution and seasonality of respiratory virus infections were observed among hospitalized children with ARIs in East China. Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) implemented during the pandemic yielded a limited impact on common respiratory viruses. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12985-023-02218-5.