Human Bocavirus Infection, People’s

Abstract

A newly identified parvovirus, human bocavirus (HBoV), was found in 21 (8.3%) of 252 nasopharyngeal aspirates from hospitalized children with lower respiratory tract infection in Hunan Province, People’s Republic of China. Viral loads were 10 4 to 10 10 copies/mL. Phylogenetic analysis of the VP1 gene showed a single genetic lineage of HBoV worldwide. Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) are a leading cause of hospitalization, illness, and death in infants and young children (1–4). Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human metapneumovirus (HMPV), influenza viruses, human coronaviruses, rhinoviruses, and adenoviruses are some of the most important viral agents for this group of patients. However, in a substantial proportion of children with respiratory tract diseases, no pathogen can be identified (1). Until recently, the only parvovirus known to be pathogenic for humans is B19 (5). In 2005, a new human virus of the genus Bocavirus considered to be pathogenic for humans, provisionally named human bocavirus (HBoV), was described in Sweden (1). Subsequently, HBoV infection was reported in children with ARTIs in Australia (6)