key: cord-007234-hcpa8ej5 authors: Renwick, Neil; Schweiger, Brunhilde; Kapoor, Vishal; Liu, Zhiqiang; Villari, Joseph; Bullmann, Reinhard; Miething, Robert; Briese, Thomas; Lipkin, W. Ian title: A Recently Identified Rhinovirus Genotype Is Associated with Severe Respiratory-Tract Infection in Children in Germany date: 2007-12-15 journal: J Infect Dis DOI: 10.1086/524312 sha: doc_id: 7234 cord_uid: hcpa8ej5 Acute respiratory infection is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in children worldwide. Accurate identification of causative agents is critical to case management and to prioritization in vaccine development. Sensitive multiplex diagnostics provide us with an opportunity to investigate the relative contributions of individual agents andmayalso facilitate the discovery of new pathogens. Recently, application of MassTag polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to undiagnosed infuenza-like illness in New York State led to the discovery of a novel rhinovirus genotype. Here we report the investigation, by MassTag PCR, of pediatric respiratory-tract infections in Germany, studying 97 cases for which no pathogen was identified through routine laboratory evaluation. Respiratory viruses were identified in 49 cases (51%); of the 55 identified viruses, 41 (75%) were rhinoviruses. The novel genotype represented 73% of rhinoviruses and 55% of all identified viruses. Infections with the novel genotype were associated with upper-respiratory-tract symptoms but, more frequently, with bronchitis, bronchiolitis, and pneumonia. Human rhinoviruses (HRVs) are the most frequent cause of acute respiratory illness worldwide. Although HRVs are most commonly associated with mild upperrespiratory-tract disease [1] [2] [3] , infection of lower airways does occur [4 -7] . Lower-respiratory-tract infections (LRTIs) related to HRV are increasingly being reported in infants, elderly persons, and immunocompromised patients [8] . HRVs are also implicated in exacerbations of asthma [9, 10] , chronic bronchitis [11] , and acute bronchiolitis [12] . Taxonomically, HRVs are currently grouped into 2 species, human rhinovirus A (HRV-A) and human rhi-novirus B (HRV-B), in the genus Rhinovirus of the family Picornaviridae ( [13, 14] ). These nonenveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses have been classified serologically [15, 16] and on the basis of their antiviral susceptibility profiles [17, 18] , their nucleotidesequence relatedness [19, 20] , and their use of receptors (intercellular adhesion molecule 1, low-density lipoprotein receptor, and decay-accelerating factor) [21] [22] [23] . Phylogenetic analyses of the VP4/VP2 and VP1 coding regions have indicated the presence of 76 serotypes in genetic group A and 25 serotypes genetic group B [18 -20, 24 ]. An agent is commonly not implicated in up to 50% of cases of severe respiratory disease, despite the application of polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) assays as well as classical diagnostic methods, including antigen tests, serology, and culture methods. Broad-range molecular assay systems, such as multiplex PCR (hexaplex [25] , GeneScan [26] , and MassTag [27] ), or microarrays (Vi-roChip [28] and panmicrobial GreeneChips [29] ) may therefore allow us to gain new insights into epidemiology and clinical associations [30, 31] . With respect to HRV, recent studies employing sensitive PCR systems for these difficult-to-isolate organisms have shown an increased detection rate, compared with culture methods [1, [32] [33] [34] [35] . Applying a multiplex MassTag PCR platform, we recently detected numerous agents of respiratory illness in samples that had been submitted for laboratory diagnosis but that had tested negative during routine diagnostic assessment [30] . HRVs were identified at high frequency in this set of samples. Detailed genetic analysis indicated that a large fraction of these viruses represent a previously uncharacterized genotype of rhinovirus, one that diverges from either HRV-A or HRV-B. In an attempt to gather additional information on the potential pathogenicity, as well as temporal and geographic distribution, of rhinoviruses, including the recently identified genotype, we evaluated specimens collected, during the 2003-2006 seasons in Bad Kreuznach, Germany, from children hospitalized because of severe LRTI. Nasopharyngeal aspirates were obtained from children admitted, because of acute respiratory-tract infection, to the Kreuznacher Diakonie Hospital (Bad Kreuznach, Germany) during the interval of 2003-2006. Individuals ranged in age from 2 weeks to 5 years (mean age, 5 months; median age, 10 months); 46% were male, 54% female. Specimens collected at the time of admission were forwarded undiluted to the Robert Koch Institute (Berlin, Germany) for laboratory evaluation. RNA extraction was performed by use of QIAamp Viral RNA Kits (Qiagen). The 97 samples for which no pathogen had been diagnosed after assessment by realtime reverse-transcription (RT)-PCR assay for influenza virus [36] and respiratory syncytial virus infection were stored at Assay procedures. The 97 RNA samples representing cases of undiagnosed respiratory diseases were employed as a template for cDNA synthesis by use of Superscript II kits with random hexamer priming (Invitrogen), and they were analyzed by MassTag PCR by using a viral primer panel [27] that targeted influenza virus A and B (FLUAV and FLUBV, respectively), respiratory syncytial virus A and B (RSV-A and RSV-B, respectively), human parainfluenza virus 1, 2, 3, and 4 (HPIV-1, HPIV-2, HPIV-3, and HPIV-4, respectively), human coronavirus 229E and OC-43 (HCoV-229E and HCoV-OC43, respectively), human metapneumovirus, entero-and rhinoviruses, and adenoviruses. The fidelity of the MassTag PCR signal was verified by reamplification of products and by sequence analysis for all positive specimens. In instances in which MassTag PCR indicated the presence of a picornavirus, the VP4/VP2 region was amplified [37] . Amplification products were purified from agarose gels (Qia Gel Extraction Kit; Qiagen), and nucleotidesequencing reactions were performed on both strands by use of the ABI Prism Big Dye cycle sequencing kits and the ABI Prism Genetic Analyzer systems (Applied Biosytems). Identical results were obtained with duplicate aliquots processed at the New York and Berlin laboratories. Sequence analyses, alignments, and phylogenetic reconstructions were performed by use of programs from the Wisconsin GCG Package (Accelrys) and by MEGA 3.1 software [38] . Nucleic-acid sequences generated during this work are available at GenBank, under the accession numbers EU081778 -EU081816. We used MassTag PCR to investigate 97 nasopharyngeal aspirates from children hospitalized because of acute respiratory illness for which no pathogen was identified through routine laboratory testing. MassTag PCR identified at least 1 candidate respiratory-viral pathogen in 49 specimens. Although there was variability across the 3 seasons Clinical associations. HRVs were the viruses most frequently detected in our set of samples, representing 75% (41/55) of the identified viruses; coinfection with another virus was observed in only 12% (5/41) of these cases (table 2). The frequency of fever or cough in infections with HRV (82%) was comparable to that in infections with the other viruses (89%); the frequency of rhinitis or pharyngitis with HRV (79%) was comparable to that with other viruses; and the frequency of LRTI symptoms (bronchitis, bronchiolitis, and pneumonia) with HRV (71%) was comparable to that with the other viruses (67%). Whereas pneumonia was more common in infections with HRV A/B (56%) than in infections with HRV X (36%), the frequency of bronchiolitis with HRV A/B (11%) was comparable to that with HRV X (12%), and the frequency of bronchitis with HRV A/B (67%) was comparable to that with HRV X (60%). LRTI was recorded in 72% of HRV X infections; however, some cases were related to milder disease (table 2) . Molecular epidemiology of identified picornaviruses. MassTag PCR targets conserved sequences in the 5'untranslated region of entero-and rhinoviruses; thus, to facilitate phylogenetic analysis of HEV and HRV, we amplified and sequenced the VP4/VP2 gene region. However, when we used the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool for analysis at the nucleotide level, we did not find, for 30 of the VP4/VP2 sequences, a significant match with HRV-A, HRV-B, or HEV sequences; analysis at the amino-acid level revealed homology to enteroand rhinoviral sequences, with a sequence identity of 60%-65%. High similarity at both the nucleotide-and amino-acid levels was evident when sequences were aligned with an unclassified genetic clade of picornaviruses recently identified in New York State [30] . However, detailed phylogenetic analysis indicated significant sequence diversity among the 30 viruses ( In this study of samples collected, during a 3-year interval, from hospitalized children with severe undiagnosed respiratory infection, MassTag PCR allowed us to detect viral pathogens in 49 (51%) of 97 cases. The pathogens most commonly identified were HRVs. These findings are consistent with other studies, which have indicated that rhinoviruses or picornaviruses ac-count for 20%-80% of acute respiratory infections [1, 32, 33, 39 -41]-exceeding, in some instances, even the frequency of RSV infection in pediatric-patient populations [34, [41] [42] [43] . The presence of HRV is not sufficient to prove causation. Asymptomatic HRV infection has been described; however, the extent to which infection without disease represents carriage, incubation, or convalescence is unknown [35, 39, 40, 42, 44] . Although we did not have samples to test for the presence of HRV in the lower respiratory tract, the high frequency at which HRV was identified as being the sole virus detected suggests a correlation between the agent and the observed LRTI symptoms. Support for the plausibility of HRV being pathogenic in LRTI comes from the facts that (1) in situ hybridization has demonstrated that HRVs exist in lower airways and (2) HRVs have been shown to trigger inflammatory processes in the infected cells and tissues [5] [6] [7] [45] [46] [47] [48] . Among the HRVs identified in the present study were representatives of the novel genetic clade recently discovered in New York State [30] ; indeed, these viruses comprised the majority of HRVs detected. HRV-A and HRV-B have been implicated in common colds as well as in severe LRTI. In our patients, viruses of the novel genetic clade were also associated with a wide range of diseases, ranging from rhinitis to bronchitis to severe pneumonia, necessitating supplemental oxygen in ϳ50% of cases. A seasonal pattern of HRV infections has been described [2, 3, 43] ; however, data regarding (43) Pathogens detected (no.) HPIV-2 (1) RSV-B (1) HPIV-1 (3) HAdV (1) HPIV-3 (1) HPIV-2 (1) HEV/HRV (12) HPIV-4 (1) HMPV (1) HCoV-OC43 (1) HEV/HRV (15) HAdV (2) HEV/HRV (15) Specific identification (no. either serotype-or genotype-specific patterns of seasonality or disease symptoms are limited [49 -51] . A temporal trend of sequence diversity or of correlation between genotype (within the novel HRV clade) and clinical diagnosis was not apparent in our data (figure 1). No detailed information is available yet concerning the history of the novel HRV clade; nonetheless, the sequence diversity observed within it (figure 1) is not consistent with a re-cent introduction. This clade may account, in part, for earlier reports of nontypeable rhinoviruses [41, 44] . Indeed, its discovery may reflect the implementation of new technologies rather than novelty of the agent itself. We anticipate that future work will define more than 1 serogroup. Our findings reinforce other groups' recent work indicating the significance of HRVs in pediatric LRTI. The presence of novel HRVs in 2 disparate geographic locations, in association with seri- ous respiratory disease in children as well as in adults, mandates further work in epidemiology and pathogenesis. 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