Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) is the major cause of respiratory
infections in infants and young children. It causes bronchiolitis and pneumonia.
There are two major HRSV subtypes, HRSV-A and HRSV-B and multiple genotypes
which can result in different disease severity. We wanted to determine whether
intensive care treatment is more associated with HRSV-A subgroup infection and
further whether certain genotypes of the HRSV-A subgroup cause a particularly
severe clinical picture that requires treatment in intensive care units. The study
included nasopharyngeal swabs of children hospitalized at the University Children's
Hospital in Ljubljana. Nested PCR and sequencing were preformed on hypervariable
region of the G gene. Most of the children included in our study were 0-3 months
old. HRSV was more often detected in boys. Between 2018 and 2021, two genotypes
appeared in hospitalized children in our study: HRSV-A/ON1 and HRSV-B/BA.
Genotype HRSV-B/BA was more often detected in hospitalized children than
genotype HRSV-A/ON1. Both genotypes cause an equally severe course of the
disease. Before the appearance of the new human coronavirus SARS-CoV-2,
infections with the subgroup HRSV-B predominated and after the appearance of
SARS-CoV-2, infections with the subgroup HRSV-A prevailed. The emergence of
the new human coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has changed the dynamics of HRSV
infections. Coinfections with other respiratory viruses were more common in
children hospitalized in the intensive care unit.
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