Incidence and seasonality of respiratory viruses causing acute respiratory infections in the Northern United Arab Emirates

Incidence and seasonality of respiratory viruses causing acute respiratory infections in the Northern United Arab Emirates

Journal of Medical Virology, April 2019

30900750

Jae‐Hyun Jeon, Minje Han, Ho‐Eun Chang, Sung‐Soo Park, Jae‐Woong Lee, Young‐Joon Ahn, Duck‐Jin Hong

Data on the seasonality of respiratory viruses helps to ensure that vaccinations can be timed optimally and that possible variant outbreaks can be monitored. We designed our study to describe the molecular epidemiology and seasonality of acute respiratory infection (ARI)-related respiratory viruses in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). We collected both upper and lower respiratory specimens for analysis from all patients who visited the Sheikh Khalifa Specialty Hospital (SKSH) with ARI for over 2 years. The multiplex real-time reverse transcription PCR (rRT-PCR) test was used to detect respiratory viruses such as human adenovirus, influenza virus (FLU) A and B, respiratory syncytial virus, parainfluenza viruses, human rhinovirus, human metapneumovirus, human enterovirus, human coronavirus, and human bocavirus. We collected 1362 respiratory samples from 733 (53.8%) male and 629 (46.2%) female ARI patients who visited the SKSH between November 2015 and February 2018. The rRT-PCR test revealed an overall positivity rate of 37.2% (507/1362). The positive rate increased during winter; it was highest in December and lowest in September. FLU was the most frequently detected virus (273/1362 [20.0%]), followed by human rhinovirus (146/1362 [10.7%]). The FLU positivity rate showed two peaks, which occurred in August and December. The peak-to-low ratio for FLU was 2.26 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.52-3.35). The pattern of FLU in the UAE parallels to that of temperate countries. The trend of small peak of FLU in the summer suggests that a semi-seasonal pattern is possible in the UAE. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.