Viral metagenomics of pharyngeal secretions from children with acute respiratory diseases with unknown etiology revealed diverse viruses

•Discovery of two novel recombination events and assembly of multiple intact respiratory viruses•The composition of the virus community varies from season to season•Investigation of acute respiratory infections in children of unknown origin using a viral metagenomic approach•Reveal the affinities, genetic diversity, and evolutionary laws of the respiratory viruses identified in this study