Introduction. Globally, human bocavirus (HBoV) has been detected in respiratory samples from patients suffering from upper and lower respiratory diseases. In Kuwait, little is known about the epidemiological and clinical characterization of the virus and genetic characterization of the virus as a respiratory pathogen is unknown. Aim. This study aims to explore the molecular epidemiology and clinical features of HBoV isolates in patients with respiratory diseases. Methodology. Retrospectively, between 2018 and 2020, 5941 respiratory samples from patients with respiratory diseases were screened for respiratory viruses using multiplex real-time PCR. Samples that were positive for HBoV were then subjected to NP1 and VP1/PV2 phylogenetic analysis. Results. HBoV was detected in 1.9 % of the patients, with a peak incidence of infection among children <1 year old. Co-infection with other respiratory viruses was observed in 56.8 % of HBoV-positive patients. Fever, cough and respiratory distress were the most common clinical features of HBoV infection. Phylogenetic analysis of the Kuwaiti HBoV isolates revealed that all the isolates were of the HBoV-1 genotype, with slight sequence variations among the isolates. Conclusion. This study illustrated the predominance of the HBoV-1 genotype in patients with respiratory diseases in Kuwait with minimal genetic variability. It also highlighted the clinical features of HBoV-1 infection, verifying its role in respiratory diseases.

中文翻译：

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科威特的人类博卡病毒（HBoV）：呼吸道疾病患者中病毒的分子流行病学和临床结局。

介绍。在全球范围内，已经从患有上呼吸道疾病和下呼吸道疾病的患者的呼吸道样本中检测到人类博卡病毒（HBoV）。在科威特，对这种病毒的流行病学和临床特征了解甚少，而作为呼吸道病原体的病毒的遗传特征尚不清楚。目标。本研究旨在探讨呼吸系统疾病患者中HBoV分离株的分子流行病学和临床特征。方法。回顾性地，在2018年至2020年之间，使用多重实时PCR对呼吸道疾病患者的5941份呼吸道样本进行了呼吸道病毒筛查。然后，对HBoV呈阳性的样品进行NP1和VP1 / PV2系统发育分析。结果。在1.9％的患者中检测出HBoV，在1岁以下的儿童中感染率最高。在HBoV阳性患者中，有56.8％的人与其他呼吸道病毒共感染。发热，咳嗽和呼吸窘迫是HBoV感染的最常见临床特征。对科威特HBoV分离株的系统发育分析表明，所有分离株均为HBoV-1基因型，分离株之间的序列差异很小。结论。这项研究表明，在科威特患有呼吸系统疾病的患者中，HBoV-1基因型占优势，遗传变异最小。它还强调了HBoV-1感染的临床特征，证实了其在呼吸系统疾病中的作用。