Viruses causing lower respiratory symptoms in young children: findings from the ORChID birth cohort

Sarna, Mohinder; Lambert, Stephen B; Sloots, Theo P; Whiley, David M; Alsaleh, Asma; Mhango, Lebogang; Bialasiewicz, Seweryn; Wang, David; Nissen, Michael D; Grimwood, Keith; Ware, Robert S

Respiratory viruses, particularly HRV, were detected with remarkable frequency in healthy Australian children in the first 2 years of life, with at least one-third of new VDEs unaccompanied by symptoms. With molecular methods used increasingly to detect respiratory viruses in young children, our study provides insights into supporting attribution for virus-specific ARIs in this age group managed within the community. The established RNA respiratory viruses and AdV were more strongly associated with symptomatic than asymptomatic infections, while no such associations were found for the newly described DNA viruses, HPyVs and HBoV-1. These data emphasise the high community levels of HRV circulating among children. Importantly, they also provide evidence to suggest that the current clinical trials of candidate RSV and HMPV vaccines seeking to protect infants against severe disease and hospitalisation might also deliver substantial health benefits for all young children within the community. 27 Correction notice This article has been corrected since it was published Online First. Figure 2 has been updated to include the missing figure legend.