Analysis of the prevalence and clinical features of respiratory syncytial virus infection in a pediatric hospital in Zhejiang Province from 2019 to 2023.

The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiological characteristics of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections in children in Zhejiang from 2019 to 2023. Data from pediatric patients who visited the Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine for RSV infection between 2019 and 2023 were analyzed. Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected for RSV antigen detection, and relevant patient information was collected. Factors such as age were analyzed. A total of 673 094 specimens were included from 2019 to 2023, with a rate of positive specimens of 4.74% (31 929/673 094). The highest rate of positive specimens of 10.82%, was recorded in 2021, while the remaining years had a rate of approximately 3%-5%. In terms of seasonal prevalence characteristics, the rate of positive specimens in 2019, 2020, and 2022 peaked in the winter months at approximately 8% and decreased in the summer months, where the rate of positive specimens remained at approximately 0.5%. In contrast, summer is the peak period for RSV incidence in 2021 and 2023, with the rate of positive specimens being as high as 9%-12%. Based on the prevalence characteristics of gender and age, this study found that the detection rate of positive specimens was higher in boys than in girls in 2019-2023. In 2019-2022, among the different age groups, the highest rate of positive specimens was found in children aged 0 to <6 months, and it decreased with age. In 2023, the rate of positive specimens was above 8% in the 0 to <6 months, 6 to <12 months, and 1-2 years age groups, with the highest rate of positive specimens in the 1-2 years age group, and a gradual decrease in the rate of positive specimens with age for children over 3 years of age. Between 2019 and 2023, the epidemiological pattern of RSV changed. A summer peak was observed in 2021 and 2023.

Epidemiological and genetic characteristics of norovirus in Hangzhou, China, in the postepidemic era.

OBJECTIVE: Norovirus (NoV) is an important human pathogen that can cause severe gastroenteritis in vulnerable populations. This study aimed to analyze the epidemiological and genetic characteristics of 2021-2023 NoV in Hangzhou, China. METHODS: This study enrolled patients aged 0-18 years who underwent NoV RNA detection in the hospital between January 2021 and October 2023 and analyzed the epidemiological characteristics of NoV. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect NoV RNA. Subtype classification and whole-genome sequencing were performed. RESULTS: There was a high prevalence of NoV infection in 2023, with NoV-positive samples accounting for 63.10 % of the total number of positive samples collected during the three-year period. The prevalence was abnormally high in summer, and the number of positive samples accounted for 48.20 % of the total positive samples for the whole year, which was much greater than the level in the same period in previous years (2023, 48.20% vs 2021, 13.66% vs 2022, 15.21 %). The GⅡ.4 subtype played a leading role, followed by increased mixed infection with GⅠ.5 and GⅡ.4. Whole-genome sequencing results suggested that GII.P16-GⅡ.4 had R297H and D372N key locus mutations. The evolutionary rate was 4.29 × 10-3 for the RdRp gene and 4.84 × 10-3 for the VP1 gene. The RdRp gene and VP1 gene of NoV GII.P16-GⅡ.4 have undergone rapid population evolution during the COVID-19 epidemic. CONCLUSION: In the summer of 2023, an abnormally high incidence of NoV appeared in Hangzhou, China. The major epidemic strain GII.P16-GⅡ.4 showed a certain range of gene mutations and a fast evolutionary rate.

The effect of nonpharmaceutical interventions on influenza virus transmission.

Background: The use of nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) during severe acute respiratory syndrome 2019 (COVID-19) outbreaks may influence the spread of influenza viruses. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of NPIs against SARS-CoV-2 on the epidemiological features of the influenza season in China. Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study analyzing influenza monitoring data obtained from the China National Influenza Center between 2011 and 2023. We compared the changes in influenza-positive patients in the pre-COVID-19 epidemic, during the COVID-19 epidemic, and post-COVID-19 epidemic phases to evaluate the effect of NPIs on influenza virus transmission. Results: NPIs targeting COVID-19 significantly suppressed influenza activity in China from 2019 to 2022. In the seventh week after the implementation of the NPIs, the number of influenza-positive patients decreased by 97.46% in southern regions of China and 90.31% in northern regions of China. However, the lifting of these policies in December 2022 led to an unprecedented surge in influenza-positive cases in autumn and winter from 2022 to 2023. The percentage of positive influenza cases increased by 206.41% (p < 0.001), with high positivity rates reported in both the northern and southern regions of China. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that NPIs against SARS-CoV-2 are effective at controlling influenza epidemics but may compromise individuals' immunity to the virus.

Escherichia coli Infection Sepsis: An Analysis of Specifically Expressed Genes and Clinical Indicators.

Since E. coli is the most prevalent sepsis bacterium, studying its pathogenic molecular pathways may help with its early diagnosis and individualized treatment. However, few studies have investigated the molecular characterization of E. coli infection only. We extracted E. coli infection-specific genes and indicators from published data and clinical laboratory results in this study. GSE65088 showed 277, 377, and 408 DEGs for E. coli and other bacteria, E. coli and healthy groups, and other bacteria and healthy groups, respectively. DEGs, the MEgreen module with the highest relevance in WGCNA, and the first three MCODE subnetworks were used to find E. coli infection-specific hub genes. HSPA1B and TNF were verified in GSE6269 with ROC-AUCs of 0.7038 and 0.7116, respectively. CIBERSORT showed increased B-cell naive and T-cell CD4 naive infiltration in E. coli infectious sepsis. Patients infected with E. coli were younger than those infected with other pathogens. Compared to the other bacterially infectious sepsis patients, the E. coli patients had low globulin, prealbumin, creatine kinase, and high bilirubin levels. The clinically significant difference indicator IL-2, in combination with hub genes, better differentiated the healthy and E. coli groups, with an ROC-AUC of 0.8793. The study suggested that HSPA1B and TNF may be E.-coli-infection-specific genes, which may help explain the molecular mechanism of infectious sepsis.