Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2016 Dec;35(12):1355-1357.

Respiratory Viruses in Neonates: A Prospective, Community-based Birth Cohort Study.

Sarna M¹, Alsaleh A, Lambert SB, Ware RS, Mhango LP, Mackay IM, Whiley DM, Sloots TP, Grimwood K.

Author information

1: From the *School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, †UQ Child Health Research Centre, School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; ‡Department of Botany and Microbiology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; §Communicable Diseases Branch, Queensland Health, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; ¶Queensland Paediatric Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Centre for Children's Health Research, Children's Health Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; ‖Public and Environmental Health-Virology, Forensic & Scientific Services, Department of Health, Coopers Plains, Queensland, Australia; **University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland Australia; ††School of Medicine, Menzies Health Institute, Queensland, Gold Coast campus, Griffith University; and ‡‡Departments of Paediatrics and Infectious Diseases, Gold Coast Health, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.

Abstract

A community-based birth cohort study collected weekly nasal swabs and recorded daily symptoms from 157 full-term infants. An average of 0.25 (95% confidence interval: 0.18, 0.34) respiratory virus infections per neonatal period were detected. Human rhinoviruses of diverse subtypes dominated; almost 50% were asymptomatic and continued rhinovirus detections may signify new genotypes. Respiratory viruses are common and often unrecognized in healthy neonates.