Human rhinoviruses in Chinese adults with acute respiratory tract infection

SummaryObjectiveTo evaluate the roles of human rhinoviruses (HRVs) in acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) in Chinese adults and determine the association between species of HRV and clinical presentations.MethodsRT-PCR methods were used to detect HRVs in throat and nasal swabs collected from 6104 adult patients with ARTIs from December 2005 to April 2008 in Beijing, China.ResultsHRV strains were detected in 271 ARTIs cases, 65% of which tested positive for HRV-A, 25% for HRV-B, and 10% for HRV-C. Aside from fever, pharyngeal congestion and headache were the most common clinical symptoms observed in the HRVs infected patients. HRV-A infected patients had a higher percentage of upper respiratory symptoms than patients infected by the two other HRV species. Systemic symptoms such as chilliness and myalgia were more frequent in people infected by HRV-B. The three HRV species exhibited unique infection timing when analyzed monthly.ConclusionHRV-C can be detected in adult patients with acute upper respiratory tract infections, but is not the predominant species in this population.