Outbreak of Human Parainfluenza Virus Type 1 in a Kindergarten from China, 2018

Abstract

Objective We reported an outbreak of human parainfluenza virus type 1 (HPIV1) in a kindergarten and explored the genetic characteristics of HPIV1 hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) and fusion (F) genes to provide more evidence about HPIV1 outbreaks.

Methods Suspected cases were the children with an influenza-like illness during June 20 to 26, 2018. Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected and screened to determine the presence of respiratory pathogens by real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The HN and F gene sequences of HPIV-positive samples were further amplified and sequenced to confirm the HPIV genotype and identify genetic characteristics. A phylogenetic tree, based on the HN and F genes, was reconstructed by maximum likelihood method.

Results Fourteen children in the outbreak were diagnosed as upper respiratory tract infection. The most common symptom was cough (10/14), followed by rhinorrhea (5/14), sore throat (4/14), headache (1/14), and abdominal pain (1/14). Eight patients were positive for HPIV1 and negative for other pathogens. Phylogenetic tree demonstrated that the eight strains from the year 2018 in our study located in the clade 2.3. Two specific substitutions (N333S and I509M) in the amino acids of the F protein and two substitutions (V19A and L436I) in the HN protein were different from other strains in the clade 2.

Conclusion HPIV1 was attributed to the outbreak, which may be related to the genetic variations of HPIV1.

Keywords

outbreak - parainfluenza virus - children

^* These authors contributed equally to this work.

Ethical Approval

This study was performed with the approval of the Ethical Committees of Peking University Institutional Review Board. The methods were performed according to approved guidelines.

Availability of Data and Materials

The dataset used and analyzed during this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

• References

• 1 Branche AR, Falsey AR. Parainfluenza virus infection. Semin Respir Crit Care Med 2016; 37 (04) 538-554
• 2 Weinberg GA, Hall CB, Iwane MK. , et al; New Vaccine Surveillance Network. Parainfluenza virus infection of young children: estimates of the population-based burden of hospitalization. J Pediatr 2009; 154 (05) 694-699
• 3 Pan Y, Zhang Y, Shi W. , et al. Human parainfluenza virus infection in severe acute respiratory infection cases in Beijing, 2014-2016: A molecular epidemiological study. Influenza Other Respir Viruses 2017; 11 (06) 564-568
• 4 Ryan S, Gillespie E, Stuart RL. A parainfluenza virus type 3 outbreak at a residential aged care facility: The role of microbiologic testing in early identification and antimicrobial stewardship. Am J Infect Control 2017; 45 (02) 203-205
• 5 Glasgow KW, Tamblyn SE, Blair G. A respiratory outbreak due to parainfluenza virus type 3 in a home for the aged--Ontario. Can Commun Dis Rep 1995; 21 (07) 57-61
• 6 Ni Z-M, Huang S-W, Xu D-G. Investigation of an outbreak of parainfluenza virus infection. Zhejiang Preventive Medicine 2014; 26 (11) 1141-1142
• 7 Harvala H, Gaunt E, McIntyre C. , et al. Epidemiology and clinical characteristics of parainfluenza virus 3 outbreak in a Haemato-oncology unit. J Infect 2012; 65 (03) 246-254
• 8 Kim T, Jin CE, Sung H. , et al. Molecular epidemiology and environmental contamination during an outbreak of parainfluenza virus 3 in a haematology ward. J Hosp Infect 2017; 97 (04) 403-413
• 9 Ren L, Gonzalez R, Wang Z. , et al. Prevalence of human respiratory viruses in adults with acute respiratory tract infections in Beijing, 2005-2007. Clin Microbiol Infect 2009; 15 (12) 1146-1153
• 10 Košutić-Gulija T, Slovic A, Ljubin-Sternak S, Mlinarić-Galinović G, Forčić D. A study of genetic variability of human parainfluenza virus type 1 in Croatia, 2011-2014. J Med Microbiol 2016; 65 (08) 793-803
• 11 Xiao NG, Duan ZJ, Xie ZP. , et al. Human parainfluenza virus types 1-4 in hospitalized children with acute lower respiratory infections in China. J Med Virol 2016; 88 (12) 2085-2091
• 12 Fukushima K, Takahashi T, Ito S. , et al. Terminal sialic acid linkages determine different cell infectivities of human parainfluenza virus type 1 and type 3. Virology 2014; 464-465: 424-431
• 13 Marx A, Török TJ, Holman RC, Clarke MJ, Anderson LJ. Pediatric hospitalizations for croup (laryngotracheobronchitis): biennial increases associated with human parainfluenza virus 1 epidemics. J Infect Dis 1997; 176 (06) 1423-1427
• 14 Pawełczyk M, Kowalski ML. The role of human parainfluenza virus infections in the immunopathology of the respiratory tract. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep 2017; 17 (03) 16
• 15 Álvarez-Argüelles ME, Rojo-Alba S, Pérez Martínez Z. , et al. New clinical and seasonal evidence of infections by human parainfluenza virus. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 2018; 37 (11) 2211-2217
• 16 Liu WK, Liu Q, Chen DH. , et al. Epidemiology and clinical presentation of the four human parainfluenza virus types. BMC Infect Dis 2013; 13 (01) 28
• 17 Wang F, Zhao LQ, Zhu RN. , et al. Parainfluenza Virus Types 1, 2, and 3 in pediatric patients with acute respiratory infections in Beijing during 2004 to 2012. Chin Med J (Engl) 2015; 128 (20) 2726-2730
• 18 Henrickson KJ. Parainfluenza viruses. Clin Microbiol Rev 2003; 16 (02) 242-264