Etiology of acute respiratory infections against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic

• Svetlana P. Kokoreva
• Oleg A. Razuvaev
• Nadezhda P. Kuprina
• Yulia Yu. Razuvaeva

Abstract

The aim is to study the etiology of acute respiratory infections in hospitalized children during the pre-COVID period and during the circulation of the new coronavirus infection.

Material and methods. An analysis of the etiological structure of acute respiratory infections in hospitalized children was conducted between 2019 and 2023. The etiology was confirmed by PCR with throat and nose swab material for respiratory viruses, respiratory mycoplasmosis, and ELISA with the determination of antibodies to Mycoplasma pneumoniae. A total of 11,077 positive examination results were evaluated. Statistical analysis was performed using the chi-square test, calculated in the IBM SPSS Statistics Version 2 program.

Results. An analysis of the nosological structure of respiratory infections in hospitalized children was conducted based on laboratory-confirmed diagnoses. Prior to the circulation of the new coronavirus infection, children with rhinovirus, RSV infections, parainfluenza, and influenza were more frequently hospitalized. Since the beginning of the circulation of the new virus in the region during 2020-2021, there has been a decrease in the proportion of causative agents of these infections, as well as metapneumo-, seasonal coronaviruses, and M. pneumoniae as causes of hospitalization in children. In 2022-2023, an increase in their proportion in the nosological structure of acute respiratory infections was observed. The greatest growth was recorded for respiratory mycoplasmosis in 2023.

Conclusion. During the circulation of the new coronavirus infection in the region, the nosological structure of laboratory-confirmed acute respiratory infections in hospitalized children changed: in 2020-2021, there was a decrease in the proportion of almost all seasonal respiratory pathogens, with the exception of bocavirus infection. In 2022-2023, the proportion of influenza, adenovirus, rhinovirus, and M. pneumoniae increased most significantly.

Keywords: children; acute respiratory infections; pandemic of new coronavirus infection; etiology of acute respiratory infections; SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19

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