Objectives: To determine virologically confirmed hospitalization rates associated with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), adenovirus, and parainfluenza viruses in Hong Kong children.
Methods: All patients <18 years of age living on Hong Kong Island (within Hong Kong SAR) admitted for a febrile acute respiratory infection to 1 of the 2 public hospitals on 1 fixed day of the week between October 2003 and September 2006 were prospectively recruited. Hong Kong Island has a known population denominator and these 2 hospitals managed 72.5% of all general pediatric admissions for this population. Nasopharyngeal aspirates were tested for RSV, adenovirus, and parainfluenzae types 1, 2, and 3 by direct antigen detection and culture.
Results: The annual hospitalization rate for RSV in infants <6 months of age was 233.4 to 311.2 per 10,000. Parainfluenza type 3 had a hospitalization rate of 27.3 to 122.8 per 10,000 in the 1 to <2 years group. Adenovirus was associated with significant hospitalization in those 6 months to 1 year (25.9-77.8 per 10,000), and in those 2 to <5 years (38.1-59.2 per 10,000). The mean duration of hospitalization for RSV was 4.04 ± 2.61 days, significantly longer than the 3.12 ± 1.41 days for adenovirus and the 2.93 ± 2.54 days for parainfluenza infections (P = 0.013 and P = 0.038, respectively).
Conclusion: We documented that the overall pediatric hospitalization burden of RSV was high and comparable to that of influenza. The burden for all the studied viruses was mainly in previously healthy children <5 years of age.