Human bocavirus and human metapneumovirus in hospitalized children with lower respiratory tract illness in Changsha, China

BACKGROUND: Lower respiratory tract illness is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children worldwide, however, information about the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of LRTIs caused by HMPV and HBoV in China is limited. OBJECTIVES: Human bocavirus (HBoV) and human metapneumovirus (HMPV) are two important viruses for children with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI). We aimed to assay the correlation between viral load and clinical characteristics of HBoV and HMPV with LRTI in Changsha, China. METHODS: Nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPAs) from children with LRTI were collected. Real‐time PCR was used to screen HBoV and HMPV. Analyses were performed using SPSS 16.0 software. RESULTS: Pneumonia was the most frequent diagnosis. There was no significant difference between HBoV‐ and HMPV‐positive patients in age (P = .506) or hospitalization duration (P = .280); 24.1% and 18.2% were positive for HBoV and HMPV. HBoV infections peaked in summer (32.2%), and HMPV infections peaked in winter (28.9%). The HBoV‐positive patients had a shorter hospitalization duration than the HBoV‐negative patients (P = .021), and the HMPV‐positive patients had a higher prevalence of fever than the HMPV‐negative patients (P = .002). The HBoV viral load was significantly higher among patients aged <1 year (P = .006). The mean HBoV and HMPV viral loads were not significantly different between patients with single infections and coinfections. Patients infected with HBoV only were older than those coinfected with HBoV and other respiratory viruses (P = .005). No significant difference was found in the clinical characteristics of patients infected with HMPV only and those coinfected with HMPV and other respiratory viruses. CONCLUSION: Pneumonia was the most frequent diagnosis caused by HBoV and HMPV. Neither HBoV nor HMPV viral load was correlated with disease severity.