Detection of human bocavirus infection in children with lower respiratory tract infections in Baghdad

Background : Respiratory tract diseases are one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in young children, and a great variety of viruses are responsible of these infection. Objectives : To determine the infection rate of human bocavirus in children with lower respiratory tract infection and related with different variable. Patients and methods : Cross sectional study consists of 122 children under five years old their age ranged between 1 and 60 months and 75 males and 47 females; suffering from lower respiratory tract infection. They were attending respiratory wards in Fatima Al-Zahraa Hospital, Al-Elwiya Pediatrics Hospital, Ibn Al-Baladi Hospital and Pediatrics Protection Hospital in Baghdad, during the period from December 2017 to February 2018. Full information were collected from parents or relevant of each patient use specific formula sheet as well as nasopharyngeal samples were collected and used for DNA extraction and amplification with specific primers by PCR. Results: Out of all 122 samples, eight samples were positive for HBoV (6.6 %). Most infections were recorded in males 5(62.5%) patients aged 1-30 months 7(87.5 %) but statistically non-significant. Significant differences (p = 0.02) were noticed with nasal discharge 100 % and wheezing 100% in HBoV-positive children, while non-significant with other parameter so higher proportion of HBoV-positive children had asthma (62.5 %).Exactly 50 % of HBoV-positive children were suffering from diarrhea. Nervous manifestation did no differ significantly between positive and negative groups (37.5 % and 38.59 % respectively). The results of phylogenetic analysis for HBoV DNA isolated from nasopharyngeal swabs revealed that all local isolates (8 isolates) are with HBoV type 1. Conclusions: Infection rate of human bocavirus was compared with rates of infection from neighboring countries, no significant differences were notice between infection rate and different parameters except with nasal discharge and wheezing.