Respiratory Viral Infection Patterns in Hospitalised Children Before and After COVID-19 in Hong Kong
Jason Chun Sang Pun,
Kin Pong Tao,
Stacy Lok Sze Yam,
Kam Lun Hon,
Paul Kay Sheung Chan,
Albert Martin Li,
Renee Wan Yi Chan
Affiliations
Jason Chun Sang Pun
Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), 6/F Lui Che Woo Clinical Sciences Building, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China
Kin Pong Tao
Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), 6/F Lui Che Woo Clinical Sciences Building, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China
Stacy Lok Sze Yam
Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), 6/F Lui Che Woo Clinical Sciences Building, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China
Kam Lun Hon
Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), 6/F Lui Che Woo Clinical Sciences Building, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China
Paul Kay Sheung Chan
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China
Albert Martin Li
Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), 6/F Lui Che Woo Clinical Sciences Building, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China
Renee Wan Yi Chan
Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), 6/F Lui Che Woo Clinical Sciences Building, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China
The study highlights the significant changes in respiratory virus epidemiology following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. Method: In this single-centre retrospective study, the virological readouts of adenovirus (AdV), influenza virus A (IAV), influenza virus B (IBV), parainfluenza viruses (PIV) 1, 2, 3, 4, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and coupled enterovirus and rhinovirus (EV/RV) were extracted from the respiratory specimens of paediatric patients in Hong Kong from January 2015 to February 2024. The subjects were stratified into five age groups. Results: The study included 18,737 and 6001 respiratory specimens in the pre-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 mask mandate period, respectively. The mean age of hospitalised patients increased from 3.49 y ± 0.03 y to 4.37 y ± 0.05 y after the COVID-19 lockdown. The rates of single-virus infection and co-infection were significantly higher in the post-COVID-19 mask mandate period. The odds ratio for AdV for all age groups (OR: 4.53, 4.03, 2.32, 2.46, 1.31) and RSV in older children from 3 years old and above (OR: 1.95, 3.38, p < 0.01) were significantly elevated after the COVID-19 outbreak. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that public health measures to contain COVID-19 may have unintended consequences on children’s natural exposure and immunity to other respiratory viruses, potentially increasing their morbidity in the post-pandemic era.
