Human Bocavirus in Saudi Arabia: Molecular Epidemiology and Co-Infections Among Children With Acute Respiratory Tract Infections

Background: During the last few years since HBoV discovery, the virus has attracted less attention and appeared to be one of the most common acute respiratory tract pathogens in children. However, few studies focused on genetic characterization and epidemiology of HBoV in Saudi Arabia, leading us to evaluate the molecular epidemiology of HBoV strains among children with ARI. This study was designed to study the epidemiological, genetic diversity and circulation pattern of HBoV among hospitalized children (< 7 years) due to acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI) during two consecutive years. Nasopharyngeal aspirate (NPA) samples (n=196) were collected. HBoV and co-infection with other respiratory pathogens were identified using qRT-PCR. Positive samples were subsequently subjected to amplify full-length of VP1/VP2 gene, followed by sequencing and phylogenetic analyses. Results: Our data showed that 3.4% (2014/2015) and 11.3% (2015/2016) of children hospitalized due to acute respiratory infections (ARI) were infected by HBoV-1. We have shown that HBoV-1 was detected year-round. HBoV-1 also was co-detected with one or multiple other respiratory viruses. Phylogenetic analysis of complete HBoV VP1/2 sequences showed no nucleotide variation and the circulation of HBoV-1. The multisequence analysis showed complete identity between HBoV isolated from 2014/2015 and 2015/2016, suggesting no genetic variability among the local circulating HBoV-1 genotypes. Our data reveal that genetically conserved HBoV-1 is circulating in Saudi Arabia. Conclusions: The multisequence analysis showed complete identity between HBoV-1 isolated from 2014/2015 and 2015/2016, suggesting no genetic variability among the local circulating HBoV-1 genotypes. Our data reveal that genetically conserved HBoV-1 is circulating year-round in Saudi Arabia.