Rhinoviruses Are a Major Cause of Wheezing and Hospitalization in Children Less Than 2 Years of Age

Abstract
Background: Human rhinoviruses (HRV) are now considered major respiratory pathogens. We sought to determine whether HRV are a cause of wheezing and/or hospitalization in children P ≤ 0.01). Among HRV-positive children with samples submitted to the diagnostic laboratory, 55% were hospitalized, which was similar to that observed for respiratory syncytial virus (52.7%) among children of a similar age group and time period (P = 0.85). Diverse groups of HRV were circulating during the 1-year study period. Conclusions: HRV are important pathogens among children <2 years old and are responsible for a significant proportion of wheezing this age group. The hospitalization rates of HRV-positive children seem to be similar to that of respiratory syncytial virus.

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