Human bocavirus (HBoV) in Kuwait: molecular epidemiology and clinical outcome of the virus among patients with respiratory diseases

INTRODUCTION: Globally, human bocavirus (HBoV) has been detected in respiratory samples from patients suffering from upper and lower respiratory diseases. In Kuwait, little is known about the epidemiological and clinical characterization of the virus and genetic characterization of the virus as a respiratory pathogen is unknown. AIM: This study aims to explore the molecular epidemiology and clinical features of HBoV isolates in patients with respiratory diseases. METHODOLOGY: Retrospectively, between 2018 and 2020, 5941 respiratory samples from patients with respiratory diseases were screened for respiratory viruses using multiplex real-time PCR. Samples that were positive for HBoV were then subjected to NP1 and VP1/PV2 phylogenetic analysis. RESULTS: HBoV was detected in 1.9 % of the patients, with a peak incidence of infection among children <1 year old. Co-infection with other respiratory viruses was observed in 56.8 % of HBoV-positive patients. Fever, cough and respiratory distress were the most common clinical features of HBoV infection. Phylogenetic analysis of the Kuwaiti HBoV isolates revealed that all the isolates were of the HBoV-1 genotype, with slight sequence variations among the isolates. CONCLUSION: This study illustrated the predominance of the HBoV-1 genotype in patients with respiratory diseases in Kuwait with minimal genetic variability. It also highlighted the clinical features of HBoV-1 infection, verifying its role in respiratory diseases.