Prevalence of human bocavirus among child inpatients in Chengdu city,2009-2013

Objective To study the prevalence of human bocavirus(HBoV)among child inpatients with acute respiratory tract infection(ARTI)in Chengdu city and to analyze its epidemic characteristics.Methods Nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected from hospitalized children with ARTI from October 2009 to October 2013.HBoV capsid protein VP gene fragments were detected using nested-polymerase chain reaction(nested-PCR),while other 7 respiratory viruses were examined with nested-PCR simultaneously.Case information were also gathered for statistical analysis.Results Out of 1842 specimens,126(6.84%) were positive for HBoV and the rate of co-infection of HBoV and other respiratory viruses was 58.73%(74/126)in positive samples.The majority of infected children were under 2 years old,with a positive rate of 7.83%(108/1379).HBoV infection showed no obvious seasonal variation.Conclusion HBoV is one of the main pathogens in children with febrile respiratory syndrome in Chengdu region,which is more prevalent in the children younger than two years old and is of higher co-infection rates with other respiratory viruses.