Detection of human bocavirus in Asturias, Northern Spain

Excerpt

Viral respiratory tract infections cause a substantial amount of illness and death in children worldwide. The so-called respiratory viruses that include respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza virus A (IA) and influenza virus B (IB), human parainfluenza viruses (PIV), adenovirus, coronavirus, rhinovirus, the recently discovered human metapneumovirus (hMPV), and several coronaviruses (SARS, NL63, HKu1) likely account for a majority of respiratory tract illnesses. However, in a substantial proportion of respiratory tract infections, no etiologic agent is detected, even when sensitive detection methods, such as a polymerase chain reaction (PCR), are used. This finding suggests that unidentified pathogens may be circulating and causing disease in children. …