Publication date: Jun 01, 2026
Human adenoviruses (HAdVs) are important causes of pediatric acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs), with disease severity potentially varying by type. The impact of COVID-19-related non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) and their relaxation on the relative prevalence of various HAdV types, RNase P-normalized viral load distributions, and associated clinical outcomes remains incompletely defined. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of children hospitalized for ARTIs at Shanghai Children’s Hospital from 2021 to 2023, integrating epidemiologic trends, clinical phenotypes, HAdV typing and RNase P-normalized HAdV DNA quantification by droplet digital PCR (ddPCR). Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify independent correlates of severe community-acquired pneumonia (SCAP). Among 19,537 hospitalized children, HAdV was detected in 600 (3. 07%), with annual detection rates of 2. 85%, 2. 36% and 3. 44% in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively (p = 0. 002). A marked type replacement occurred, shifting from species C (predominantly HAdV-108) in 2021-2022 to species B (predominantly HAdV-3) in 2023. Among 507 HAdV-positive cases with complete data, post-pandemic cases in 2023 involved older children and showed higher proportions of species B infection, Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) co-infection, and SCAP (14. 74% vs. 3. 08% in 2021-2022; p
Semantics
| Type | Source | Name |
|---|---|---|
| disease | MESH | Respiratory Infections |
| disease | MESH | COVID-19 |
| disease | MESH | community-acquired pneumonia |
| disease | MESH | infection Mycoplasma |
| disease | MESH | co-infection |
| disease | MESH | Adenovirus Infections Human |