Background: No comparison data have been reported on viral and epidemiological profiles of hospitalized\nchildren with severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) in Beijing or Shanghai, China.\nMethods: We collected 700 nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPA) from hospitalized children with SARI in Beijing\n(northern China) and Shanghai (southern China). Multiple respiratory viruses (including 15 common viruses) were\nscreened by validated polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or real-time reverse transcription-PCR assays and confirmed\nby sequencing. Demographic data and the distribution of viral infections were also examined.\nResults: Of 700 samples, 547 (78.1%) tested positive for viral infections. The picornaviruses (PIC), which included\nrhinovirus (RV) and enterovirus (EV), were the most common (34.0%), followed by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)\n(28.3%), human bocavirus (HBoV) (19.1%), adenovirus (ADV) (13.7%), human coronaviruses (HCoV) (10.7%), influenza\nA and B (8.9%), parainfluenza virus (PIV 1-3) (7.9%), and human metapneumovirus (HMPV) (5.0%). PIC (RV/EV) and\nRSV were the most prevalent etiological agents of SARI in both cities. The total and age-matched prevalence of\nRSV, HCoV, and hMPV among SARI children under 5 years old were significantly higher in Beijing than in Shanghai.\nDifferent age and seasonal distribution patterns of the viral infections were found between Beijing and Shanghai.\nConclusions: Viral infection was tested and shown to be the most prevalent etiological agent among children with\nSARI in either the Beijing or the Shanghai area, while showing different patterns of viral and epidemiological\nprofiles. Our findings provide a better understanding of the roles of geographic location and climate in respiratory\nviral infections in hospitalized children with SARI.
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