Objective To understand the epidemiological characteristics of human rhinovirus (HRV) in influenza-like cases in Guizhou province, and analyze the VP4/VP2 gene features and variation patterns of HRV.

Methods A total of 8 451 throat swabs were collected from influenza-like cases in Guizhou province from 2023 to 2024. Multiplex fluorescent quantitative PCR was employed to detect 11 common pathogens: HRV, influenza virus (IFV), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human parainfluenza virus (HPIV), adenovirus (ADV), human common coronavirus (HCoV), severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), human metapneumovirus (HMPV), enterovirus (EV), human bocavirus (HBoV), and Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP). SPSS 22 was used for χ²/Fisher test on the detection rates of various pathogens. The HRV-positive samples were selected for VP4/VP2 gene sequencing, and MEGA was used for VP4/VP2 gene typing and phylogenetic analysis.

Results A total of 3 602 positive samples for 11 common pathogens were detected, with a total positive rate of 42.62%. SARS-CoV-2 showed the highest single-pathogen detection rate (6.63%), followed by HRV (6.41%). The detection rate of HRV varied among age groups (P < 0.001), being the highest in the age group of 0–4 years old (8.33%) and the lowest in the age group of ≥ 60 years old (2.02%). In addition, the detection rate of HRV varied among different seasons (P < 0.001), being the highest in autumn (9.20%) and the lowest in summer (4.03%). The detection rate of mixed infections of HRV was 1.93%, and the mixed infection of HRV and EV had the highest detection rate at 0.56%. A total of 42 HRV VP4/VP2 gene sequences were obtained, comprising 32 sequences of HRV-A, 2 sequences of HRV-B, and 8 sequences of HRV-C.

Conclusions HRV is one of the main pathogens causing influenza-like cases in Guizhou province during 2023–2024, and HRV-A, HRV-B, and HRV-C coexist as the common species.