Increased risk of rhinovirus infection in children during covid pandemic

Emi Takashita 

Chiharu Kawakami 

Tomoko Momoki 

Miwako Saikusa 

Kouhei Shimizu  

Hiroki Ozawa , 

Makoto Kumazaki  

Shuzo Usuku  

Nobuko Tanaka  

Ichiro Okubo  

Hiroko Morita

DOI: 

https://doi.org/10.1111/irv.12854

PDF: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/irv.12854

Abstract

Background

Coronavirus disease (COVID‐19), which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), was first detected in Japan in January 2020 and has spread throughout the country. Previous studies have reported that viral interference among influenza virus, rhinovirus, and other respiratory viruses can affect viral infections at the host and population level.

Methods

To investigate the impact of COVID‐19 on influenza and other respiratory virus infections, we analyzed clinical specimens collected from 2244 patients in Japan with respiratory diseases between January 2018 and September 2020.

Results

The frequency of influenza and other respiratory viruses (coxsackievirus A and B; echovirus; enterovirus; human coronavirus 229E, HKU1, NL63, and OC43; human metapneumovirus; human parainfluenza virus 1, 2, 3, and 4; human parechovirus; human respiratory syncytial virus; human adenovirus; human bocavirus; human parvovirus B19; herpes simplex virus type 1; and varicella‐zoster virus) was appreciably reduced among all patients during the COVID‐19 pandemic except for that of rhinovirus in children younger than 10 years, which was appreciably increased. COVID‐19 has not spread among this age group, suggesting an increased risk of rhinovirus infection in children.

Conclusions

Rhinovirus infections should be continuously monitored to understand their increased risk during the COVID‐19 pandemic and viral interference with SARS‐CoV‐2.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/irv.12854