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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Infectious Diseases: Epidemiology and Prevention
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1437508

Respiratory pathogen analysis in pediatric inpatients unraveled the infection pattern of Mycoplasma pneumoniae post the COVID-19 pandemic Author

Provisionally accepted
Qihong Chen Qihong Chen Ruizhi Xu Ruizhi Xu Ying Gu Ying Gu Jie Peng Jie Peng Chiyuan Ma Chiyuan Ma Dubin Su Dubin Su Shuai Liu Shuai Liu Dandan Ge Dandan Ge Yungang Yang Yungang Yang *Wanshan Ning Wanshan Ning *
  • First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Abstract Background To counteract the COVID-19 pandemic, nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) were implemented globally, exerting a profound influence on a wide spectrum of infectious diseases, encompassing respiratory tract infections (RTIs). Subsequent to the easing of NPIs, China experienced a significant outbreak of Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP). Methods Over a decade from 2015 to 2024, our study scrutinized twelve common infectious diseases among pediatric children. Etiologically diagnostic data and clinical outcome metrics of children with RTIs, tested for thirteen pathogens, were analyzed to evaluate changes during and after the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic periods, with a notable emphasis on age profile and coinfection patterns of MP. Results Among 57,471 hospitalized children, 23,178 were diagnosed with infectious diseases. Under NPIs, most respiratory infections declined compared to pre-pandemic levels, rebounding by 69.64% in 2023. While the infection rate of common respiratory pathogens decreased, cases of respiratory syncytial virus increased during the period of extensive NPI implementation. In 2023, pediatric intensive care unit durations for these pathogens increased, suggesting greater severity of illness compared to 2019. MP exhibited the highest infection rate (31.38% average), with a notable outbreak post-pandemic due to severity increase in <3-year-olds and rise among older children. NPIs reduced MP coinfections and mitigated their severity, while exerting a significant influence on bacterial coinfections with MP over the span of five years, in contrast to their impact on viral pathogens. Conclusions NPIs effectively curb transmission of respiratory infections by most pathogens, resulting in increased average age of MP infections and altered patterns of coinfection post-pandemic. Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; nonpharmaceutical interventions; respiratory pathogens; Mycoplasma pneumoniae; children.

    Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, nonpharmaceutical interventions, respiratory pathogens, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Children

    Received: 24 May 2024; Accepted: 25 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Chen, Xu, Gu, Peng, Ma, Su, Liu, Ge, Yang and Ning. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Yungang Yang, First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
    Wanshan Ning, First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen, China

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