Prevalence of and Risk Factors for Human Rhinovirus Infection in Healthy Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Western Australian Children

• Published in: The Pediatric infectious disease journal Vol. 31; no. 7; pp. 673 - 679
• Main Authors: Annamalay, Alicia A, Khoo, Siew-Kim, Jacoby, Peter, Bizzintino, Joelene, Zhang, Guicheng, Chidlow, Glenys, Lee, Wai-Ming, Moore, Hannah C, Harnett, Gerry B, Smith, David W, Gern, James E, LeSouef, Peter N, Laing, Ingrid A, Lehmann, Deborah
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hagerstown, MD Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc 01-07-2012; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
• Subjects: Adult; Australia - epidemiology; Bacteria - classification; Bacteria - isolation & purification; Biological and medical sciences; Child, Preschool; Ethnic Groups; Female; Genotype; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Infectious diseases; Male; Medical sciences; Nasopharynx - microbiology; Nasopharynx - virology; Picornaviridae Infections - epidemiology; Picornaviridae Infections - virology; Prevalence; Rhinovirus - classification; Rhinovirus - genetics; Rhinovirus - isolation & purification; Risk Factors; Australia; Oceania; Human; Pediatrics; Prevalence; Upper respiratory tract; Picornaviridae; Environmental factor; upper respiratory symptoms; Epidemiology; Human rhinovirus; Infection; Virus; Symptomatology; Seasonal variation; Risk factor; Aboriginal; Bacteriosis; environmental risk factors; bacterial association; Child; seasonality; Rhinovirus
• ISSN: 0891-3668; 1532-0987
• DOI: 10.1097/INF.0b013e318256ffc6

BACKGROUND:Human rhinovirus (HRV) species C (HRV-C) have been associated with frequent and severe acute lower respiratory infections and asthma in hospitalized children. The prevalence of HRV-C among healthy children and whether this varies with ethnicity is unknown.
OBJECTIVE:To describe the prevalence of HRV species and their associations with demographic, environmental and socioeconomic factors in healthy Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children.
METHODS:Respiratory viruses and bacteria were identified in 1006 nasopharyngeal aspirates collected from a cohort of 79 Aboriginal and 88 non-Aboriginal Western Australian children before 2 years of age. HRV-positive nasopharyngeal aspirates were typed for HRV species and genotypes. Longitudinal growth models incorporating generalized estimating equations were used to investigate associations between HRV species and potential risk factors.
RESULTS:Of the 159 typed specimens, we identified 83 (52.2%) human rhinovirus species A (HRV-A), 26 (16.4%), human rhinovirus species B and 50 (31.4%) HRV-C. HRV-C was associated with upper respiratory symptoms in Aboriginal (odds ratio, 3.77; 95% confidence interval:1.05–13.55) and non-Aboriginal children (odds ratio, 5.85; 95% confidence interval2.33–14.66). HRV-A and HRV-C were associated with carriage of respiratory bacteria. In Aboriginal children, HRV-A was more common in the summer and in those whose mothers were employed prior to delivery. In non-Aboriginal children, day-care attendance and exclusive breast-feeding at age 6–8 weeks were associated with detection of HRV-A, and gestational smoking with detection of HRV-C.
CONCLUSIONS:Factors associated with the presence of HRV differ between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children. In contrast to HRV-A, HRV-C is associated with upper respiratory symptoms suggesting that HRV-C is likely to be implicated in respiratory illness.